CARY, N.C. - In an ACC semifinal match in which the No. 3 Tar Heels dominated play on the offensive and defensive end of the field, the No. 12 Blue Devils managed to keep the score close and give themselves a chance to send the contest into overtime.
With less than eight minutes left in the game and Duke down 2-0, junior forward Darby Kroyer took a short pass from junior midfielder Rebecca Moros and launched a high shot from 35 yards out. It sailed over the head of Tar Heel freshman goalkeeper Anna Rodenbough and into the back of the net, bringing the Blue Devils to within one.
"Once we got that goal we were like, 'we can actually score a goal and attack them,'" Kroyer said.
But the late charge was not enough for the Blue Devils (13-5-1), who gave themselves a few scoring opportunities at the end of the game. Freshman forward Christie McDonald sent a high, hanging cross into traffic with 1:30 remaining, but the UNC defense cleared it and secured the 2-1 win.
"I think we committed ourselves better in the second half than we did in the first half," head coach Robbie Church said. "They haven't won 18 national championships for anything. They come after you. They are always very intense when they come out and play. I was a little disappointed in some of our connections, but I'm very proud of our team."
In the other ACC semifinal match, second-seeded Virginia (15-5-1) defeated third-seeded Florida State (17-3-0). The Cavaliers were unable to defend their 2004 ACC Championship crown when they lost 4-1 to the Tar Heels in the championship game Sunday.
The fourth-seeded Blue Devils entered Friday's game with a chance to be the first team to beat the top-seeded Tar Heels twice in the same season. Duke won 2-1 at Chapel Hill Oct. 9. But UNC (20-1) took control of this game early when freshman forward Jamie Gilbert headed in the first goal four minutes into the match.
"They came out after us early," Church said. "They came hard and they took us out of the rhythm of play. We were trying to do the same thing to them when we won in Chapel Hill. We were able to accomplish that then but today, they took us out of the rhythm of play, especially in the first half."
Duke failed to register a shot in the first half for the first time this season. But sophomore goalkeeper Allison Lipsher and the Blue Devils' defense, led by ACC defensive Player of the Year Carolyn Ford, were able to stave off many of North Carolina's 17 shots until freshman forward Yael Averbuch added her team's second goal midway through the second half.
"To tell you the truth, they are always intense," Ford said. "They always bring a high level every time you play against them."
The Blue Devils will find out Monday who they will play in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
"I think we are getting that big match mentality," Church said. "In the NCAA tournament, we'll see the pressure from other teams and we've got to be able to play through some pressure."
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