CHAPEL HILL - It took 110 minutes for Duke and North Carolina to settle nothing in a balanced matchup between two top-10 ACC powerhouses.
In a game marked by defensive dominance and offensive frustration, the Blue Devils (10-3-2, 3-2-2 in the ACC) and the Tar Heels (12-3-2, 2-3-2) played to a 0-0 tie in front of the second-largest crowd ever at Fetzer Field Friday.
The game was UNC's 10th shutout of the season and the third straight for goalkeeper Justin Hughes. Duke goalkeeper Justin Papadakis picked up his fifth shutout of the season.
"You're never satisfied with a tie," Duke head coach John Rennie said. "It was a great game, two really good teams, and if you don't score you don't win."
Rennie said that although he was not happy with the tie, he was still proud of the result and felt that his team played its best defensive game of the season.
Papadakis did not have to make a single save as the Blue Devils stifling defense held the Tar Heels to seven total shots and none on goal. It was the first time all season that UNC did not record a shot on goal.
"That their keeper didn't have to make a save, that concerns me," UNC head coach Elmar Bolowich said. "But on the other hand, you have games like that.... Sometimes you're just off and that's hard to control."
Defender Tim Jepson attributed the Tar Heels' futility to Duke's strong team defense, particularly the play of the midfielders.
"We knew that they would be a fast, quick team," Jepson said. "When our midfield works their butts off and doesn't let them put in through-balls, it doesn't matter how fast their forwards are, they're not going to get anything."
Neither team saw many opportunities in the first half, as both Duke and UNC went into the locker room without recording a shot on goal. The Blue Devils' best first-half scoring chance came in the 40th minute, when Zach Pope raced to track down a Michael Videira lob near the top of the box. Before Pope could get off a shot, Hughes dove at the ball as the two players collided and it squirted harmlessly out of bounds.
Duke's offense saw more chances later in the game, but the Blue Devils were similarly spurned on attack by a Tar Heel defense that allowed just four shots on goal. Duke tallied the game's first shot on net in the 56th minute, when forward Mike Grella struck a weak 30-yard shot that was smothered by Hughes.
The Blue Devils' best chance of the game came in the 72nd minute, when midfielder Blake Camp sent a free kick into the Tar Heel wall just in front of the box. The ball glanced off the UNC players right to an open Videira, who blasted a shot toward the near post. But a diving Hughes managed to deflect the ball out of bounds.
"I just caught a piece of it and tried to get it wide because I knew I couldn't hold onto it," Hughes said.
Neither team threatened in either of the extra periods. The only shot on goal in either overtime came off the foot of Grella, who laced a 30-yard shot that was easily saved by Hughes.
Despite the tie, Duke got a taste of the style of play that it will need to exhibit come playoff time, Jepson said.
"We've got to match that intensity every game," he said. "When we do play this hard, there's not a team in this country that can play with us."
Rennie echoed Jepson's comments and said he believes the Blue Devils have gained a great deal of confidence after shutting down a team like UNC.
"This was more important for us right now," Rennie said of blanking the Tar Heels. "We know we can score goals but to shut out a very good team is a very good sign."
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