By R.L. Bynum
DURHAM — After a blip in Carolina’s domination of Duke in women’s soccer, Tori Hansen gave the Blue Devils a heads-up that the Tar Heels still own the rivalry.
No. 2 UNC (6–1–0) seized control with the senior defender’s first-half header, and goalkeeper Emmie Allen earned her first career shutout in a dominant 3–0 victory Thursday night over No. 3 Duke in a non-conference game.
It was the Tar Heels’ 43rd victory over their rivals in the 50th meeting before a full moon and 3,527 fans, many wearing light blue. UNC remains unbeaten in 20 games at Koskinen Stadium against Duke and outshot Duke 15–2. The two shots were a season-low.
Hansen said the memory of last season’s 1–0 loss to Duke before a sellout crowd in Chapel Hill, the Tar Heels’ first loss in Dorrance Field history, motivated the Tar Heels, and it showed in their play.
Read about the humble beginnings of the Carolina women’s basketball program, from coaches driving teams to games to playing and practicing in a dangerous gym, the program has come a long way. Learn interesting stories about the program in this Tar Heel Tribune story.
“They stormed the field,” Hansen said. “And most of the team remembers that feeling, and I think that was such a fire under us for this game. And we were like, ‘We’re gonna do the exact same thing to them here on their field.’ “
They were so fired up that they couldn’t wait. After Hansen’s scored UNC’s first goal in the 35th minute, most of the team celebrated at midfield, which drew a yellow card.
“I loved it and hated it,” UNC coach Anson Dorrance said of the celebration.
Both teams showed that they are national contenders in frustrating 2–1 home losses to now No. 1 UCLA last week, but the Blue Devils (5–2–0) had few answers for Carolina, getting shut out for the first time in 20 matches.
“This Duke team, I think, is even better than last year’s, and we just wanted to play well against them,” Dorrance said. “So, I think what you saw was the energy of a bunch of kids who just love to play.”
After getting a yellow card earlier in the first half and nearly picking up a second, Hansen powerfully headed Emily Moxley’s corner kick from the far side of the box over Duke’s Nicky Chico and into the right part of the net in the 35th minute.
“I just remember the ball coming at me, and I just remember it going in the back of the net and then running to the bench,” Hansen said. “I knew they were going to get a yellow card because they were completely in the middle of the field. I was like, ‘go back, go back.’ I was going to run all the way to them, but they were so excited. And I love this team, and I’m just really, really happy.”
It was Hansen’s second goal of the season, the other coming on a penalty-kick header against Tennessee. She headed another corner kick early in the second half that went right into Duke goalkeeper Ruthie Jones’ midsection.
Hansen has a huge role with defenders Kayleigh Herr and Maycee Bell both out for the season with knee injuries. With the help of lacrosse player Julia Dorsey, who played at center back, Carolina limited Duke to two shots and only one on goal.
“So, basically in the only position that we’re not very deep, we have two season-ending injuries,” Dorrance said, noting that his team is very deep at all other positions. He played all four defenders for 90 minutes, including Tessa Dellarose and Moxley.
In the 75th minute, Emily Murphy tapped Sam Meza’s pass by Jones. Isabel Cox made it 3–0 in the 84th minute when she deflected an Emily Colton shot into the net.
“They played great,” Duke coach Robbie Church said of the Tar Heels. “They swarmed us and were all over us. I thought we had good effort, but we didn’t have good quality.”
After only playing in the first halves during the first six games while sharing goaltending time with senior Marz Josephson, Allen, a redshirt freshman, went the entire way against the Blue Devils and hasn’t given up a goal in 360 minutes this season. Josephson had given up three goals in the last two games for all the opponent scores this season.
Allen was told earlier this week that she would play the entire match.
“I felt like they really believed in me,” Allen said. “And it made me less nervous coming into the game knowing that they wanted me to play the whole game and they had confidence in me.”
Allen admitted to feeling pressure going into the season because she was taking over for Claudia Dickey.
“She was such a good goalkeeper,” Allen said. “At the beginning of the year, I felt a lot of pressure from it. But as the season has gone on, I’ve gotten more comfortable. I don’t feel it as much, but she did a really, really good job.”
NOTES: It was the first time Duke has been shut out since a 1–0 setback against Virginia on Sept. 23 of last season. … Carolina’s Sam Meza picked up a first-half yellow card for the second consecutive match. … Both teams lost last week at home 2–1 to now No. 1 UCLA. … UNC leads the series 43–4–3, including a 17–0–3 record in Durham. … Carolina has taken 87 more shots than opponents in its first seven matches (139–52). … It was the second-largest crowd at the stadium since the Kennedy Tower was built in 2015. … Carolina’s three goals were the most against Duke at Koskinen Stadium since West Virginia scored three on Sept. 9, 2016.
No. 2 UNC 3, No. 3 Duke 0
| Date | Month/day | Time/score | Event/opponent (current rank) | Location | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August | |||||
| 7 | Monday | W, 8–1 | College of Charleston | Home | Exhibition |
| 12 | Saturday | W, 2–0 | East Carolina | Home | Exhibition |
| 17 | Thursday | T, 0–0 | No. 5 Penn State | University Park, Pa. | 0–0–1 |
| 20 | Sunday | W, 3–1 | Cal | Home | 1–0–1 |
| 24 | Thursday | T, 0–0 | No. 12 Wisconsin | Home | 1–0–2 |
| 27 | Sunday | W, 4–0 | No. 22 USC | Home | 2–0–2 |
| 31 | Thursday | W, 5–0 | Gardner-Webb | Home | 3–0–2 |
| September | |||||
| 3 | Sunday | W, 3–1 | No. 10 Arkansas | Home | 4–0–2 |
| 7 | Thursday | W, 2–1 | No. 16 South Carolina | Columbia, S.C. | 5–0–2 |
| 10 | Sunday | T, 1–1 | No. 24 Alabama | Tuscaloosa, Ala. | 5–0–3 |
| 15 | Friday | W, 1–0 | Virginia Tech | Home | 6–0–3, 1–0 ACC |
| 21 | Thursday | W, 1–0 | Virginia | Charlottesville, Va. | 7–0–3, 2–0 ACC |
| 24 | Sunday | T, 3–3 | No. 1 Florida State | Home | 7–0–4, 2–0–1 ACC |
| 30 | Saturday | W, 4–0 | N.C. State | Raleigh | 8–0–4, 3–0–1 ACC |
| October | |||||
| 5 | Thursday | W, 1–0 | Miami | Home | 9–0–4, 4–0–1 ACC |
| 8 | Sunday | T, 1–1 | No. 25 Duke | Durham | 9–0–5, 4–0–2 ACC |
| 13 | Friday | T, 1–1 | No. 25 Wake Forest | Winston-Salem | 9–0–6, 4–0–3 ACC |
| 19 | Thursday | T, 1–1 | No. 9 Notre Dame | Home | 9–0–7, 4–0–4 ACC |
| 22 | Sunday | W, 6–1 | Syracuse | Home | 10–0–7, 5–0–4 ACC |
| 26 | Thursday | T, 1–1 | Boston College | Newton, Mass. | 10–0–8, 5–0–5 ACC |
| ACC tournament | |||||
| 29 | Sunday | L, 2–1 (2 OTs) | No. 11 Pittsburgh | Chapel Hill | 10–1–8 |
| November | NCAA tournament Link to bracket | ||||
| 10 | Friday | W, 3–1 | First round: Towson | Chapel Hill | 11–1–8 |
| 17 | Friday | W, 1–0 | Second round: No. 24 Alabama | Lubbock, Texas | 12–1–8 |
| 19 | Sunday | W, 1–0 | Third round: No. 4 Texas Tech | Lubbock, Texas | 13–1–8 |
| 24 | Friday | L, 4–3 | Quarterfinals: No. 6 Brigham Young | Provo, Utah | 13–2–8 |
Photo of Tori Hansen courtesy of UNC Athletics Communications
tarheeltribune.com 
1 Comment