Entering last Friday’s tilt at then-No. 17 Wake Forest, the Blue Devils knew they needed to win their final two ACC contests and get some help from other teams to win their first conference regular season title ever.
Duke got that help as fellow top-five teams Syracuse and North Carolina lost, making the stakes for the Blue Devils’ rematch against the Tar Heels that much bigger.
No. 2 Duke will do battle with No. 4 North Carolina Saturday at 1 p.m. at Jack Katz Stadium for the ACC regular season title. The Blue Devils are coming off a 2-1 comeback win against the Demon Deacons and 5-1 rout of then-No. 19 Old Dominion, but will have to do something they have not since September 2013 to earn the No. 1 seed in the ACC tournament—knock off the Tar Heels.
Since 2006, North Carolina has won 15 of 16 contests against its Tobacco Road rival, including victories in the 2014 and 2015 NCAA tournament and a 3-2 win in Chapel Hill earlier this year in a rare nonconference battle between the two teams.
“We’re really sick of it honestly,” senior Robin Blazing said of the Tar Heels’ dominance. “We’re trying to see it as any other game, taking care of business and doing what we know how to do. It’s a rivalry, but it’s also just another game in our path.”
Blazing is a big reason the Blue Devils (13-2, 4-1 in the ACC) are in position to add more history to a spectacular regular season featuring 10 top-20 wins following the senior’s game-winning goal at Wake Forest. Duke has won three straight games since a 5-1 loss at the hands of the Orange. and is also hoping to avenge its 3-2 Sept. 25 loss to North Carolina (12-3, 3-2) in which the Tar Heels scored three goals in a 15-minute period to take control in the second half.
Penalty corners fueled the Tar Heels’ spurt against the Blue Devils, and also allowed Syracuse to build a 4-0 lead on Duke in the game’s first 27 minutes, one of the few times the Blue Devils have struggled to find their footing this season.
“You know Syracuse, we have to make some changes from that game, but going forward we have a good lane to success,” Blazing said. “We’ve just got to take care of UNC and get down to business.”
Part of Duke taking care of business will likely involve getting senior Heather Morris and junior Alyssa Chillano going after the duo combined for just one shot in their first game against North Carolina this season. Each player has scored 11 goals this year, and the duo has combined for seven assists, meaning their ability to create their own scoring chances off penalty corners will be critical against two Tar Heel goalkeepers that only allow 1.1 goals per contest.
Alex Halpin and Shannon Johnson split time between the pipes for North Carolina, though Halpin has been playing most big minutes lately and played the full 70 minutes in the teams’ first matchup.
The Tar Heel defense will likely keep a close eye on Blue Devil graduate student Aisling Naughton, who had a goal and an assist in the September game and had two goals Sunday against Old Dominion.
Naughton and company will be hoping to employ the same strategy then-No. 7 Louisville did in its 1-0 upset of North Carolina last weekend.
“Louisville was real patient both with the ball and really patient defensively,” Blue Devil head coach Pam Bustin said. “[That] kind of threw North Carolina off their rhythm.”
Despite being shut out against the Cardinals, the Tar Heels are among the best offensive teams in the country. They average 3.5 goals per contest and have still scored 15 goals during their last four games, including a 6-0 drubbing of Miami (Ohio).
Senior Lauren Moyer and junior Gab Major headline North Carolina’s deep offense having combined for 20 goals and six assists this year, but it was Eva van’t Hoog who broke open the Tar Heels’ first win against Duke with a pair of goals.
Although the Blue Devils have had a few lapses against top-five competition, redshirt freshman Sammi Steele has proven to be one of the best netminders in the country during her first year as a starter, and another big game from its goalkeeper could propel Duke to more history this season.
Steele has notched three shutouts this year—including one against then-No. 6 Maryland early in the season—and is in the top 15 nationally in goals allowed per contest.
Saturday’s game seems to have every possible storyline imaginable, but it will actually not be the Blue Devils’ regular season finale—Duke will conclude the season Oct. 29 against Richmond.
A long-awaited win against the Tar Heels would just give the Blue Devils another reason to celebrate on Senior Day next week.
“The last time we beat UNC was my freshman year,” Blazing said. “So that would really bring things full circle and would be an awesome way to end the [ACC] regular season.”
Amrith Ramkumar contributed reporting.
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Digital Strategy Director for Vol. 115, Michael was previously Sports Editor for Vol. 114 and Assistant Blue Zone Editor for Vol. 113. Michael is a senior majoring in Statistical Science and is interested in data analytics and using data to make insights.