Going into Sunday’s 7 p.m. matchup against rival North Carolina at Koskinen Stadium, the No. 7 Blue Devils are on a roll. Following their eighth shutout of the season Wednesday night, Duke (10-0, 2-0 in the ACC) is off to its best start since 1982—when the team advanced to the national title game—and has outscored its opponents 33-3.
Named the preseason favorite to win the ACC, North Carolina was supposed to have the edge entering Sunday’s game. Instead, the Tar Heels (2-4-2, 1-0) have been plagued by a combination of tough scheduling and inconsistent play, leading to only one win in their last six matches. Most recently, No. 2 UNC-Greensboro shut out the Tar Heels 1-0 Wednesday night.
What a difference a year makes.
When the teams met in Chapel Hill last year, the Blue Devils were 2-4-1 and in the midst of a severe downslide. The Tar Heels, on the other hand, were 5-1-1 and ranked No. 8 in the country.
Playing in front of the third-largest crowd in UNC men’s soccer history, the Blue Devils were able to hang around and take the Tar Heels into double-overtime but ultimately lost 3-2 on a free kick in the 109th minute.
“Our players just need to realize that this game takes on a life of its own, and there’s no way to predict or project what’s going to happen,” Duke head coach John Rennie said. “It’s going to be filled with a lot of emotion, and both sides are going to put everything they have out there to win.
“[We need to] remind our players that the roles are reversed from last year. We were a heavy underdog, we were in a terrible time in our season, and yet we came very close to winning the game.”
The Blue Devils understand that North Carolina’s record is not indicative of its talent and the team remains extremely dangerous. First team All-ACC senior Marcus Storey and sophomore Jamie Watson are two of the fastest and most talented forwards in conference. Of the two, Storey, a National Player of the Year candidate and team’s leader in points and assists, could prove to be the biggest problem for Duke’s young defense.
“They’re not playing the best—yet,” Rennie said. “A game like this can turn their season around.”
Despite this quick Tar Heels attack, neither Rennie nor his players foresee any major changes to the team’s defensive strategy. Led by Danny Miller, Duke has prevented opponents from penetrating into box and has quickly initiated counterattacks to jump-start the offense.
“We won’t really be changing anything,” defender Kyle Helton said. “We’ve played good forwards all year and we’ve seen [them] before. Right now, we just need to get mentally prepared for the game.”
This mental strength will be a key theme for the Blue Devils as they try to cope with the added burden an undefeated record brings to an already intense rivalry game.
“There’s a bunch of added pressure,” said freshman Michael Videira, who will be playing in his first Duke-UNC game Sunday. “With every win we have, there’s more pressure added onto us... every game has an impact on our season.”
Although the team does not think this added pressure will have an effect at gametime, Rennie said his team will not be caught off guard. The Blue Devils are acutely aware of this role reversal and feel ready and prepared for it.
“To be quite honest it doesn’t matter who’s had the better season,” said Helton. “Anytime UNC plays Duke, it’s going to be a crazy game. We’re just getting ready now, and hopefully we can have a nice victory on Sunday.”
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.