By R.L. Bynum
DURHAM — Duke made women’s soccer history on Thursday night, but there were plenty of positive ways for No. 2 Carolina to look at the first road loss to the Blue Devils in program history.
The unranked Blue Devils scored a breakaway last-minute goal before halftime after some quirky bounces near midfield. It was enough to earn a 1–0 victory at Koskinen Stadium for their first home win over their rivals in 21 tries.
“It’s emotional. It’s a loss,” UNC interim coach Damon Nahas said. “Any loss hurts. When you play your rival, that’s always going to escalate. For me, it’s just about reminding them it’s a long road.”
The good news for the young Tar Heels (6–1–1) is that the game didn’t count in the ACC standings. By the time the teams meet in Chapel Hill for the regular-season finale, the Tar Heels will probably have two of their best players — Maddie Dahlien and Olivia Thomas — back.
“We’re a little bit short on bodies right now, a little bit banged up, so we’ve got to just recover,” Nahas said. “For us, it’s just about grinding to be able to continue to improve.”
UNC (6–1–1) could have used Dahlien, who scored her fifth international goal Wednesday in the USA’s 1–0 victory over Morocco in the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup.
“We always embrace opportunities that put them on the highest stage, and she made us proud in the minimal minutes she got [Wednesday] night,” Nahas said. “We talked about maximizing your opportunity, and she sure did that. So, we were Tar Heels rooting for Dahlien. Yes, we would have loved to have her here.”
Thomas, who had three goals and two assists in five games, missed her second consecutive game with a lower-body injury. Nahas said she will likely be out for at least two or three weeks.
A long shot by Bella Sember (top photo) in the 89th minute — her game-high fourth shot — easily saved by Duke goalkeeper Leah Freeman, was Carolina’s last chance at a score.
“I think we just lacked a little bit of urgency and quality to be able to get services, a little bit of impatience at times,” Nahas said. “We changed our formation in the second half after the first 10 minutes or so, to kind of neutralize it. And once we did that, we found the game.”
Carolina hadn’t trailed Duke at halftime since a 1–0 loss on Oct. 16, 2015, in Chapel Hill and hadn’t trailed at Duke since winning 3–2 on Oct. 18, 1999.
“If you get so caught up in history, then you get lose track of where you’re trying to go,” Nahas said. “So as we respect history, we also have a really young team, a new team that we’re trying to build on. I talk about the history, then all of a sudden it becomes a bigger picture than what is really important for us to be able to be successful as the season goes on. And I don’t want to minimize the success that we’ve had to this point.”
Duke’s nine shots were a season-high for a Carolina opponent. The veteran Blue Devils (3–1–0) had four shots in the first 10 minutes after halftime. UNC tried to get the right pass combinations to create good chances, but the Blue Devils were often present for interceptions.
“I feel for the girls, because the goal that we gave up — I think we could eliminate. And once you do that on their home field, you kind of chasing it,” Nahas said. “It’s just that final moment, that last decision, a missed touch. The tempo was a little bit off at times. It wasn’t a lack of effort, that’s for sure.”
It took UNC more than 15 minutes to get a shot, as Duke dominated the early part of the game with terrific passing and a few good chances. Carolina had control for much of the rest of the first half but was skittish on offense. Just like the Blue Devils, UNC couldn’t convert its chances. Freeman punched away UNC’s best chance, midfielder Linda Ullmark’s close-in shot in the 33rd minute.
Duke finally cashed in with 38 seconds left in the first half after a long pass pinballed oddly off a UNC player and a Duke player just past midfield before going right to open Duke midfielder Maggie Graham.
With nobody between her and the goal, Carolina midfielder Olivia Migli (who transferred from Duke in the offseason) couldn’t catch her. Graham beat UNC goaltender Clare Gagne one-on-one to give the Devils a 1–0 halftime lead.
“They’re playing a direct ball, and we were actually in a position to make a play, and unfortunately, the clearance kind of ricocheted off our foot and bounced off someone else, and then a fortunate bounce for them,” Nahas said.
NOTES — Carolina returns home for the next two games, facing Columbia at 1 p.m. Sunday and Wake Forest at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Tar Heels’ ACC opener. The Lions are 0–1–3 after a scoreless draw Thursday in their home opener against Fairleigh Dickinson. The Demon Deacons are 4–1–1 after winning Thursday at Villanova 1–0. … Dahlien’s U.S. team plays its final Group C match against Paraguay in Cali, Colombia, against Paraguay and likely will move on to the knock-out rounds. … Former UNC forward Mia Oliari played for Duke, transferring in the offseason. … Duke forward Kat Rader got hurt in the 25th minute of the first half after tripping over Gagne. She was carried off the field with an air cast on her lower left leg. … UNC still has a 17–1–3 edge over Duke in Durham. … Carolina is 1–2–2 in its last five matches against Duke, but leads the series 43–5–5.
Duke 1, No. 2 UNC 0
| Date | Month/day | Time/ score | Opponent | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August | ||||
| 14 | Thursday | L, 2–0 | at Tennessee | 0–1 |
| 17 | Sunday | W, 5–0 | vs. Siena | 1–1 |
| 21 | Thursday | 6:30 | at Georgia | SECN+ |
| 24 | Sunday | Noon | vs. Rice | ACCNE |
| 28 | Thursday | 4 p.m. | vs. UNCG | ACCNE |
| 31 | Sunday | Noon | vs. Wisc.-Milwaukee | |
| September | ||||
| 4 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | vs. Alabama | |
| 7 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | vs. James Madison | |
| 11 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | at Virginia Tech | |
| 17 | Wednesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Florida State | ACCN |
| 25 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | At Notre Dame | ACCN |
| October | ||||
| 2 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | vs. Boston College | ACCN |
| 5 | Sunday | 4 p.m. | vs. Pittsburgh | |
| 12 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | at Duke | ESPNU |
| 17 | Friday | 6 p.m. | at SMU | |
| 23 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | at Miami | |
| 26 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | vs. Syracuse | |
| 30 | Thursday | 8 p.m. | vs. N.C. State | ACCN |
| November | ACC tournament | |||
| 2 | Sunday | First round: Campus sites | ||
| 6, 9 | Thurs., Sun. | W, 2–1 | Semifinals, final: Cary | |
| NCAA tournament | ||||
| 13 | Thursday | First round Campus sites | ||
| December | Women’s College Cup | |||
| 5, 8 | Fri., Mon. | CPKC Stadium Kansas City |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics Communications
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