When the kickoff whistle blew Sunday afternoon at Koskinen Stadium, the collegiate soccer world fully expected a North Carolina win. After all, the No. 1 team in the country had not lost a game, scoring 28 goals and holding its opponents to a measly seven tallies. However, the Tar Heels were victims of a prophecy that has fulfilled itself time and time again — count out the underdogs and they come back to bite. Especially if their mascot is the Blue Devils.
No. 22 Duke battled to a 1-1 tie against North Carolina in a nail-biting thriller that went down to the wire. Sophomore phenom Kat Rader earned the last-minute goal for the Blue Devils after a huge penalty save from senior keeper Leah Freeman. Junior Emily Colton got the lone tally for the Tar Heels. The draw marks just the fourth time the program has split with its Tobacco Road rivals.
“It was unbelievable, phenomenal,” said head coach Robbie Church. “For the moment, and for that 90 minutes, I thought we were just awesome.”
Duke (5-4-3, 1-2-3 in the ACC) waited a full 89 minutes before rewarding the Blue Devil faithful with a long-awaited goal after several extremely close opportunities. With every player in Duke blue pressing forward in a last-ditch effort, senior Grace Watkins drove through the midfield before hitting freshman Cameron Roller on the right wing. With a poise beyond her years, the center back lofted the ball into the box in hopes of finding a connection.
Roller did not just find one of her teammates; she found Rader. The sophomore superstar tracked the ball while fending off three North Carolina defenders, redirecting the cross to send it toward the left side panel of the net. The header flew past a diving Emmie Allen as the stadium erupted and the Blue Devil bench cleared out to thank their hero.
“Cam sent in a great ball, and I just tried to put my head on it,” Rader said. “Really, really special moment to celebrate that with my team and then obviously help us get a result is really important, too.”
The forward’s goal, however, was largely produced by a momentum shift courtesy of Freeman. In the 78th minute, Roller committed a foul in the box against a charging Tar Heel striker. The referee instantly pointed to the penalty spot. Church and his coaching staff challenged the call, but it would all be for naught as the Duke crowd visibly sank into the bleachers. To make matters worse, the Blue Devils on the sideline were shown a yellow card for their shouts of protest.
North Carolina’s Avery Patterson stepped up to the spot as the entire crowd held its breath. The whistle blew, and the senior Tar Heel began her run in what would seal the victory for the top-ranked team in the country. Freeman, however, read the shot the whole way. A blur of gold diving to the right post, the Oregon transfer trapped the ball into her chest. What could have been a moment of disaster became a moment of pure joy as the Berkeley, Calif., native saved her squad from a 2-0 deficit and kept it in the game.
“I do block out during PKs. In the moment … you’re locked in, you’re looking at the ball. That’s all you can see. That’s what you can do, [and] whatever happens is going to happen,” Freeman said. “Then [I saved it] and I was like, ‘You know what, we’re gonna get some momentum from this.’”
“Leah, what a great stop,” Church added. “It was a great play, and it got us a tie. Down the road, it may be the biggest tie that we have all year as we look forward to trying to get a push into the NCAA tournament.”
While Duke pulled together in the waning minutes of the game, North Carolina drew first blood. After a brilliant first-half defensive performance backed by Roller and Freeman, the Tar Heels broke through in the 58th minute. Redshirt sophomore Emerson Elgin drove down the left flank of the field before serving it into the feet of Colton. The Carlsbad, Calif., native launched a shot from the top of the box, which hit the underside of the crossbar before bouncing in.
Despite the setback, the Blue Devils performed admirably in their defensive composure. Roller was blocking shots while sophomore Elle Piper and senior Nicky Chico won crucial tackles on the flanks, holding North Carolina scoreless and helping the Duke keeper by forcing outside opportunities.
“I think our defense played great today,” Freeman said. “When they were forcing shots, they were shots from the outside, they were stepping up at the right times … and just overall [the] decision-making was really good.”
With confidence and momentum on their side, the Blue Devils will face off against No. 9 Clemson Friday before continuing their tough ACC slate with matchups against Virginia Tech and Florida State the following week.
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Mackenzie Sheehy is a Trinity sophomore and Blue Zone editor of The Chronicle's 119th volume.