The Blue Devils muted a raucous crowd and put old demons to rest Sunday afternoon. Duke defeated top-seeded and top-ranked North Carolina 2-1 at Henry Field and earned its second consecutive trip to the Final Four. The victory marked the first time since 1972 the field hockey team won a game against the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill.
CHAPEL HILL — The Blue Devils muted a raucous crowd and put old demons to rest Sunday afternoon.
Duke defeated top-seeded and top-ranked North Carolina 2-1 at Henry Field and earned its second consecutive trip to the Final Four. The victory marked the first time since 1972 the field hockey team won a game against the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill.
Duke will face Michigan State in the national semifinals Friday in Winston-Salem. If the Blue Devils beat the Spartans, they will play the winner of the Maryland-Wake Forest semifinal Sunday.
“Beth has told us time and time again, it is one thing to make the Final Four, it is another to make it again,” midfielder Johanna Bischof said. “For us, the senior class especially, we have a long history of losing to North Carolina. We haven’t beaten North Carolina at home ever. For us, it was a really nice way to get there, and we are all just really excited.”
Senior Chrissie Murphy scored the game-winning goal with 17:25 left in the second half. Off a free hit, sophomore Amy Stopford sent an initial shot on goal and junior Nicole Dudek redirected it toward the net. UNC keeper Katy Tran made the initial save, but the rebound bounced to Stopford. The midfielder sent a pass to Murphy at the far post, who beat the keeper.
“I put it on myself and my teammates to ensure that this was not our last game,” Murphy said. “Once we got out there, especially in the second half, I think I felt it. It really didn’t come into my mind that we had any chance to lose.”
When the contest ended, the Blue Devils swarmed onto the field in celebration while several UNC players fell to the turf in tears.
In the first half, North Carolina dominated the time of possession. After several quality scoring opportunities, UNC finally broke through when Rachel Dawson scored on a direct shot off a penalty corner with 25:06 remaining in the opening half.
Duke tied the score five minutes later on a penalty stroke by Bischof. The low, hard shot beat Tran, who said she misread the strike. Bischof’s shot was one of only two on goal during the first half, compared to UNC’s six.
The Blue Devils’ midfield came to life in the second half. Cara-Lynn Lopresti, Hillary Linton, Stopford and Bischof moved the ball down the field and put pressure on the Tar Heel defense. On the other side of the ball, the midfielders stopped UNC’s passes and created turnovers.
“We got a little impatient, and we tried to hit through them,” North Carolina head coach Karen Shelton said. “I think we forced that a little bit, we tried to find those [passing] lanes and the midfield stopped the ball.”
Realizing that their almost-perfect season could end abruptly, the Tar Heels became more agressive. In one key stretch with 13 minutes left, North Carolina drew four straight penalty corners. Duke keeper Christy Morgan denied each shot on goal, and the Tar Heels missed the net on multiple occasions.
Bozman’s defensive plan at the end of the game was simple.
“We prayed,” she said.
After the initial flurry of corners, Duke regained possession and kept the ball away from its scrappy and desperate opponent.
North Carolina, who was perfect in the ACC, could not beat Duke when the stakes were highest. The Blue Devils, after losing several close games to the nation’s top teams, were finally able to muster a late goal.
Duke beat No. 12 Old Dominion 5-3 Saturday in to set the matchup with UNC the following day.
Fans, coaches and players on both sides were disappointed that the two elite programs had to meet before the Final Four. Instead of giving the fourth-ranked Blue Devils the tournament’s fourth seed, the NCAA committee pitted the two conference rivals against each other in the quarterfinals.
Shelton expressed her frustration with the committee after the game.
“There are a group of women that are supposed to be experts in field hockey,” Shelton said. “They deemed Duke not to be the No. 4 seed. Everybody in the nation knew that Duke was the No. 4 seed and should have been the No. 4 seed and should be playing in Michigan today. This committee, somehow, didn’t give it to them. I don’t know why.... This was the toughest bracket, there is no doubt about it. The top seed, you have the best record in the country, you are supposed to be rewarded for it—student athlete welfare”
Bozman was ecstatic with the win, but shared similar concerns about the brackets.
“We are so pleased to be going to the Final Four, but at the same time I have to say that I think North Carolina deserves to be going to the Final Four too,” Bozman said. “It’s a bit of a travesty that we were in the same pool.”
The Blue Devils may have overcome their biggest obstacle en route to the national championship game. Duke lost to the No. 8 Spartans in the second game of the season, but the Blue Devils were without Morgan.
Since head coach Beth Bozman arrived at the start of the 2003, the team has gone 5-1 in the NCAA Tournament. Playing in their first Final Four last season, the Blue Devils fell to the Demon Deacons in a tight national championship game.
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