CARY - It was over.
After Kyle Helton's penalty kick sailed wide left, giving North Carolina a 4-3 advantage with one round remaining in the decisive shootout, the Tar Heels' first ACC Championship since 2000 seemed like a foregone conclusion. North Carolina midfielder Dax McCarthy simply needed to beat Duke goalkeeeper Justin Papadakis, who had guessed wrong on the first three shots, from 12 yards out to seal the game.
Papadakis, however, got it right this time.
With no choice but to make a save or go home empty-handed, Papadakis instinctively dove to his right and caught just enough of McCarty's shot to knock it away, giving the Blue Devils life for another round.
"I think there's some factors that go into it like his angle to the ball, but at the end I think it's just being fortunate," Papadakis said.
Blake Camp beat Tar Heel goalkeeper Ford Williams to knot the score at four, forcing a sixth round. Williams, the Tar Heels' backup, entered the game at the start of the overtime after starting goalkeeper Justin Hughes injured his groin.
After Camp's successful shot, Papadakis came up with another miracle save, sprawling to his left to meet a Stephen Bickford shot the sophomore goalie knocked harmlessly in the air.
With one kick to win the game and the ACC title, Duke freshman Mike Grella, who came off the bench throughout the tournament, didn't hesitate to blast a shot past a helpless Williams to give the Blue Devils their second ACC Championship.
"I really wanted to win this one for our team, I think that was the main thing going through my mind," said Papadakis, who had never faced a shootout situation in college before. "[I was] just trying to calm myself down and basically just win it for the team, because they've worked so hard through this tournament."
In a game marked by the same offensive futility as the teams' first matchup this season Oct. 28, the No. 22 Blue Devils (12-4-3) and No. 4 Tar Heels (15-3-3) battled through 90 minutes of regulation and two 10-minute overtime periods without a single goal. In their two games this year, the teams have played 220 minutes of scoreless soccer.
"It was just the game that we anticipated it would be," UNC head coach Elmar Bolowich said. "We had opportunities... we just didn't connect any."
After failing to tally a shot on goal in its first matchup with the Blue Devils, North Carolina did not register a shot on goal until the 50th minute of Sunday's contest when Ben Hunter launched a free kick that was knocked wide by Papadakis. The Tar Heels were held to 10 shots, three of which were on goal.
Duke fared no better against a UNC defense that has not allowed a goal in over 737 minutes. The Tar Heels, whose current scoreless streak spans a school-record seven games, held the Blue Devils to 11 shots, two of which were on goal.
"It's unique, if you look back over the last years of this rivalry there's usually a lot of goals scored," said Duke head coach John Rennie, who won the ACC Championships for the second time in his career. "I don't remember a 0-0 game, a single one in the last 25 years, the last 27 years, prior to this year, so it's very different from what we would normally expect."
The Blue Devils didn't have an easy run to the title.
In Friday's semifinal, Duke toppled No. 1 Maryland, 4-2. It was the second time in as many years that the Blue Devils had defeated the Terrapins while Maryland was at the top of the rankings.
The Blue Devils jumped out to an early lead when senior captain Blake Camp scored goals in the 13th and 16th minutes for his third two-goal game of the season. Despite two late goals by the Terrapins that pushed the score to 3-2 with three minutes remaining, Duke managed to hold on and Spencer Wadsworth sealed the game with a goal in the 89th minute.
"Obviously we're very happy with the result, very proud of our players," Rennie said after the game.
Camp's semifinal performance helped secure him the tournament's Most Valuable Player award after Sunday's victory over UNC. The award was a first for the senior, who has been named to the All-Tournament team the past two seasons despite the Blue Devils' inability to advance past the first round prior to this year.
"It's a tremendous feeling," said Camp of winning the tournament and being named MVP. "I think this has to be one of my fondest memories as a soccer player.... My career at Duke has just been a series of ups and downs. My sophomore year we went, I think, it was nine games without a single win at one point-to come this far it just feels terrific because I think everybody that's been a part of this team deserves it."
Despite the jubilation that comes with the players' first ACC Championship of their careers, Camp cautioned that the Blue Devils aren't done.
"At the same time, we're still not satisfied," Camp said. "It's still not over and we're looking forward to the NCAA Tournament."
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