It was no secret that Friday night’s game at Koskinen Stadium was a rivalry match. Fans had logos waxed into their chest hair, babies wore collegiate apparel and freshman Rob Dolot opened up a bloody cut above his eyebrow, requiring a replacement jersey to return to the game.
But the majority of the nearly 4,700 fans in attendance did not see the result they wanted, with No. 11 Duke ultimately falling to No. 4 North Carolina 1-0.
“We hung in there against a really good team and forced them to work very hard,” head coach John Kerr said. “In the second half, we came out and made a few adjustments, played a lot better, but we still need to improve some things. It’s early in the season, and hopefully we’ll do that.”
The intensity in the stands was matched by players on the field in a first half that, while scoreless, did prove interesting. Dolot was sent off the field with the cut in the 13th minute, and North Carolina’s Michael Farfan earned a yellow card in the 25th minute.
Duke (2-1-2, 0-1-1 in the ACC) has not been victorious over North Carolina (3-1-0, 2-0-0) since October 2006, meaning that the Blue Devils’ seniors have never seen their team come out on top.
“It’s like, you know, you come to Duke, a big reason to come to Duke is to play UNC every year,” co-captain Christian Ibeagha said. “It just sucks when it’s senior year, and you finish your career after playing four years against these guys. I can’t even put into words what it feels like right now.”
The Tar Heels controlled the ball the majority of the game but were unable to score until only 12 minutes remained in the game. Off a pass from North Carolina defender Josh Rice, midfielder Bruno Castro struck from six yards out to score on a Duke defense that was challenged throughout the contest. The game-winning goal dampered an otherwise impressive performance from James Belshaw, who saved six goals and saw 18 Tar Heel shots come his way.
Evident from the sidelines and even from the stands, North Carolina had a higher energy in its play.
“From kickoff to the end of the game, UNC was just sharper,” Ibeagha said. “First to every ball, they were trapping in their possession, forcing us to defend for the majority of the game.”
Duke plans to take positive notes from this game to move on with the rest of its season. The Blue Devils’ next game at UNC-Wilmington tomorrow night will be no easy victory, and the following match against No. 13 Boston College will present another tough conference test.
“We have to do better when we get possession of the ball because we didn’t look comfortable tonight,” Kerr said.
The players, too, recognize that they need to rest, recuperate and gear up for the remainder of the season. This loss will be tough to overcome, but the team is optimistic.
“Obviously we’ll come back, and we’ll go to work and get ourselves together for UNC Wilmington,” Ibeagha said. “We know that won’t be an easy game, so we can’t just show up and expect to win the game. If we put in the work, I think we’ll definitely come out the victor.”
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