Last year when Duke played North Carolina in the regular season, the Tar Heels came to Williams Field and downed the Blue Devils 2-1. But when it really counted in the NCAA Tournament, Duke defeated the then-No. 1 Tar Heels, 2-1, in Chapel Hill.
"I was amazed when I came here just how severe the rivalry was," head coach Beth Bozman said, who is in her third season at Duke. "We both bring good games when we come to the table."
When No. 5 Duke (5-2, 0-1 in the ACC) plays at No. 3 UNC (7-0, 0-0) Friday night at 7 p.m., the teams will play each other as rivals, albeit shorthanded ones.
The Blue Devils are still without four starters-Katie Grant, Cara-Lynn Lopresti, Hilary Linton and Amy Stopford-who are playing in the Junior World Cup in Chile. The Tar Heels are missing two starters in Laree Beans and Rachel Dawson.
UNC, though undefeated, has only scored 16 goals this year to Duke's 26 and has relied on superb defense to carry the team.
"I think UNC does play a very defensively-tight game," Bozman said. "We are generally a pretty good scoring team so we are going to be working hard to do that this game."
Despite the fact the Tar Heels play a much different style than many of the opponents the Blue Devils have faced this year, Bozman has made it a point not to change Duke's style of play for each opponent.
"We're still going to play our game," defender Kirsten Bostrom said. "We are confident we will be able to score against them."
This game is also Duke's fourth straight against a top-10 opponent, a streak which included the Blue Devils loss to ACC rival No. 1 Wake Forest.
Winning within the league is difficult this year, as four of the top five teams in the country are ACC teams: Wake Forest, UNC, Duke and No. 2 Maryland.
"This year is just like last year," Bostrom said. "The ACC field hockey teams are the top teams in the nation so any win you can get within the conference is huge."
The Blue Devils will only get a short break after their trip to Chapel Hill before travelling to play at No. 19 James Madison (5-3) at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Bozman said that JMU relies heavily on their top player, Baillie Versfeld, and runs its entire offense through her. Versfeld touches the ball on every play, an odd concept for a Blue Devil team that has no central play-maker.
In the series' history, Duke is 10-10-1 against JMU but the Blue Devils have dominated the past few years, winning five of the past six matchups.
"We do play them every year and usually come away with a win," Bostrom said. "But then again with four of our players gone it's just another opportunity to show how strong our team is."
This is the final weekend that the Blue Devils will have to play without their missing starters, but the results of this weekend could have implications for the rest of the season.
"We definitely know how important it is," Bostrom said. "Not only for inter-conference play but for national standings as well."
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