Recovering from a blunder is never easy, especially when it occurs in front of a full house on the road against the rival Tar Heels. Freshman Riley Wolfe rose to the challenge, though, in a game he will likely never forget.
Wolfe recovered from an own goal in the first half to score the game-tying strike in the 84th minute, leading to a 2-2 final result after double overtime.
“We feel like we’re a strong finishing team,” head coach John Kerr said. “We were able to muster enough strength and some kind of mindset to get us in a scoring position. It was a heck of a finish by Riley to the far post.”
Duke (5-4-1, 2-1-1 in the ACC) attacked early and often against a highly touted North Carolina defense. The aggressive strategy paid off for the Blue Devils in the 15th minute. Andrew Wenger needled a pass inside to Nick Palodichuk, who finished the play to the far post to put Duke up 1-0.
The No. 5 Tar Heels (8-1-1, 2-1-1) turned up their defensive pressure following the goal, resulting in a strategic chess match between the two teams for much of the half. With only eight minutes remaining in the opening period, North Carolina crossed the ball into the penalty area from the right corner. Miscommunication between goalkeeper James Belshaw and Wolfe resulted in the ball slowly trickling into the back of the net for an own goal and a 1-1 game going into halftime.
In direct contrast to the start of the game, it was the Tar Heels who dominated on the offensive end in the second half, leading to a goal in the 75th minute that gave the home team a 2-1 advantage.
The score brought new life to the Blue Devils. Duke threatened for the next 10 minutes, taking several quality shots on goal before Wolfe finally connected from 20 yards out to tie the game at two apiece.
“It was a little bit of redemption of course,” Wolfe said. “My first goal for Duke felt great. After I scored I didn’t really know what to do. I just started bolting around the field so happy and I just found the team and dove over into them. It was the best feeling in a long time.”
With emotions running high in an already heated rivalry, the two teams played aggressively throughout the period, culminating in a red card for North Carolina’s Jordan McCrary. The scrum was only the tip of the iceberg on a night where the two teams combined for 23 fouls, 18 of which were charged to the Blue Devils. The tenacity by both teams was no surprise to Kerr.
“Anytime there’s play between these two universities, it’s going to be competitive,” Kerr said. “You saw it tonight—it was a heated game.”
The two teams battled into overtime and eventually double overtime, but neither team was able to put together another score. Although Duke couldn’t secure the victory, the tie was still meaningful to a team that is now unbeaten in its last five games.
“It’s huge to come back like this,” Wolfe said. “Especially being away it’s a big result for us. It’s a huge step for us and I think it could lead to great things for us.”
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