By R.L. Bynum
DURHAM — Seventy days after Duke dominated North Carolina in an August field hockey scrimmage at Williams Field, the roles were reversed for one half.
A young Tar Heels team that has endured plenty of adversity since then looked more like a championship team. Sensational fifth-year forward Ryleigh Heck scored two goals, and Carolina held on for a 2–1 victory to earn the top seed in next week’s ACC tournament in Chapel Hill and a share of the regular-season title.
Fifth-year goaltender Tessa Shahbo, in her third start of the season and second in row, fended off a late Duke flurry to finish off Carolina’s 16th consecutive win in the rivalry.
“When you come here, you get better. We get better individually. We get better as a team, and we have poured our hearts and souls into the season,” UNC coach Erin Matson said. “You do every season, but this one’s different with the adversity we faced.”
The Erin Matson Rule is still in place: she can’t lose to Duke. As a player and coach combined, she’s now 16–0 against her rival, a fact her players reminded her of after the game.
“It’s hilarious that they’re keeping track more than me. I want to beat them every year,” Matson said. “It sounds great when I hear it, but honestly, if you ask me again next year, I won’t know what number that is.”
A lot has changed for No. 10 Carolina (11–6, 6–2 ACC), which extended its win streak against No. 6 Duke (12–4, 6–2) to 16 games.
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The biggest change is that Heck has 11 goals in 10 games since becoming eligible. Heck wasn’t on the field for that weather-shortened scrimmage, but made her presence known Friday.
Heck showed why she’s one of the country’s best players with her goal in the 19th minute. Driving toward the cage from the right, she lifted a shot high over Duke goaltender Kaiya Cepow to beat her top shelf.
“The game just slows down for her. She sees space instead of players,” Matson said. “She attacks that. But you as an attacker, when you can identify the space before the player you’re going against, that’s already a step above everybody else. And then she couples it with her stick skills and how she keeps the ball glued to her stick, which makes it very challenging for a defender.”
Matson said the team’s progress goes beyond the difference between the August scrimmage and Friday’s victory. She pointed to the Tar Heels’ response to difficult moments, including Duke’s fourth-quarter goal, as evidence of their growth.
“I’m really, really proud of their composure, of our composure, the way we played really good, fast, unselfish hockey, but with no hesitation and with a lot of just confidence and let’s go,” Matson said.
Heck watched the early part of that development from the sideline as a graduate assistant before becoming eligible. She credited her teammates for continuing to work through the uncertainty and maintaining their support for one another.
“I think our team adapted really well to adversity, and they were going to work hard no matter who was on the field, if we were on the field or not,” Heck said.
Shahbo said the talent has been there throughout the season. More recent progress has come from the players’ collective belief in what they can accomplish together.
“The confidence of this team has really just built over the past couple of weeks,” said Shahbo, who has started ahead of Merritt Skubisz since the 4–3 loss at No. 7 Wake Forest on Oct. 23.
“This year we went with Merritt for a long time, and we still have confidence and faith in her,” Matson said. “But we just felt like it was time for Tessa, to give her a chance against [Appalachian State on Sunday]. Just like every game, just like the roster, just like any decision we make, it’s what we feel is best for the team at any time, and that was putting Tessa in the cage against App.”
UNC got off the only two shots in the scoreless first quarter, and it took until the 18th minute for Duke to get a shot. The Tar Heels led 1–0 at halftime, with advantages in shots (8–1), shots on goal (5–1) and penalty corners (2–0).
For Shahbo, the action at the other end of the field in the first half still required concentration in UNC’s cage. Even as her teammates controlled possession, she had to keep the defense prepared for a counterattack.
“As much as I love the ball being in the other end in the other circle, I also have to keep doing my job to make sure we cover that what-if scenario,” Shahbo said.
Cepow made a nice save on a Heck shot in the 39th minute, but Heck dribbled toward the cage for a goal similar to her first score 64 seconds later. This time, Cepow was sprawled on the field, making it easier to lift the shot over the Duke goaltender.
Heck said she relied on instinct on both finishes.
“I just went with my gut, and I saw space on the right, took it towards the goalie,” Heck said. “I think both were similar, and then just trusted my lifts. That’s one of my favorite skills to do in a game.”
Duke finally broke through in the 49th minute when forward Lily Soldan took a pass from forward Ashley Stockdale and flipped a shot by Shahbo.
Shahbo made a terrific high save on a Callie Rogers shot in the 56th minute, and UNC fended off a Duke corner less than two minutes later. Shahbo then made two saves on a corner in the 59th minute.
“The defense is like an extension of me. So, they do their jobs to help me do mine,” Shahbo said. “And so as much as they may look cool, and I might have to jump a little bit, it was certainly because of the defense in front of me that I was able to do it.”
Shahbo, who spent the previous four seasons at Harvard, gave UNC the steady finish it needed to protect Heck’s two-goal effort.
Asked about the high saves, the 5–2 Shahbo joked, “Yeah, I am short, so that’s a fair call.” She quickly turned the credit toward the players in front of her.
“They managed to make sure I had low-angle shots, where possible, so that I had less of an angle to cover,” Shahbo said.
The Tar Heels head into the postseason with consecutive victories and a chance to build on that progress at home. Matson said that confidence comes from understanding how much attention each game requires.
“[There’s] no concern with this team with getting ahead of themselves or getting comfortable. They’ve learned that lesson by now because of the season, and we’re grateful for that. We take that to heart,” Matson said. “And right now, we’re focused purely on having a good film session on Sunday and a good practice on Sunday.”
Notes
— Carolina, Wake Forest and Duke finished in a three-way tie for first place in the ACC, but UNC earned the top seed based on goal differential, with the Deacs getting the No. 2 seed.
— The Tar Heels play in the ACC tournament opener at 10 a.m. Tuesday against No. 8-seed Stanford (10–7). The teams didn’t meet in the regular season.
— If UNC advances, it would play a 1 p.m. semifinal game on Wednesday against the winner of Tuesday’s 12:30 clash between No. 4-seed Syracuse and No. 5-seed Louisville. The championship game is set for 3 p.m. on Friday, with all games airing on ACC Network.
— UNC leads the all-time series 90–12, including 35–6 in Durham.
No. 10 UNC 2, No. 6 Duke 1
ACC standings
| League | Overall | |
|---|---|---|
| No. 6 Duke | 6–2 | 12–4 |
| No. 7 Wake Forest | 6–2 | 13–5 |
| No. 10 North Carolina | 6–2 | 11–6 |
| No. 13 Syracuse | 4–4 | 9–6 |
| Louisville | 4–4 | 10–8 |
| No. 19 Virginia | 3–5 | 8–6 |
| Boston College | 3–5 | 8–9 |
| Stanford | 2–6 | 10–7 |
| No. 17 California | 2–6 | 9–7 |
Thursday’s result
Stanford 2, No. 17 California 1
Friday’s results
No. 10 North Carolina 2, No. 6 Duke 1
Boston College 3, No. 13 Syracuse 1
No. 7 Wake Forest 5, Louisville 1
Karen Shelton Stadium
All games on ACC Network
Tuesday’s quarterfinals
No. 1 seed, No. 10-ranked North Carolina (11–6) vs. No. 8 seed Stanford (10–7), 10 a.m.
No. 4 seed, No. 13-ranked Syracuse (9–6) vs. No. 5 seed Louisville (10–8), 12:30 p.m.
No. 2 seed, No. 7-ranked Wake Forest (13–5) vs. No. 7 seed Boston College (8–9), 3:30 p.m.
No. 3 seed, No. 6-ranked Duke (12–4) vs. No. 6 seed, No. 19-ranked Virginia (8–6), 6 p.m.
Wednesday’s semifinals
UNC-Stanford winner vs. Syracuse-Louisville winner, 1 p.m.
Wake Forest-BC winner vs. Duke-Virginia winner, 3:30 p.m.
Friday’s championship game
Semifinal winners, 3 p.m.
| Date | Month/day | Time/ score | Opponent/event (current ranking) | Record/ TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August | ACC/Big Ten Challenge in Winston-Salem | |||
| 28 | Friday | L, 2–1, OT | Michigan | 0–1 |
| 30 | Sunday | L, 3–2, OT | No. 9 Iowa | 0–2 |
| September | ||||
| 4 | Friday | W, 7–0 | Penn | 1–2 |
| 6 | Sunday | W, 1–0, OT (3–2 shootout) | No. 8 Princeton | 2–2 |
| 11 | Friday | L, 5–4, OT | Old Dominion | 2–3 |
| 13 | Sunday | W, 2–1 | at Richmond | 3–3 |
| 20 | Sunday | L, 2–1 | vs. No. 19 Virginia | 3–4, 0–1 ACC |
| 25 | Friday | W, 8–1 | at Stanford | 4–4, 1–1 |
| 27 | Sunday | W, 4–0 | at No. 17 California | 5–4, 2–1 |
| October | ||||
| 2 | Friday | W, 3–0 | at Louisville | 6–4, 3–1 |
| 9 | Friday | W, 8–0. | at Saint Joseph’s | 7–4 |
| 11 | Sunday | L, 2–1 | at No. 12 Liberty | 7–5 |
| 16 | Friday | W, 4–0 | vs. Boston College | 8–5, 4–1 |
| 18 | Sunday | W, 2–1 | vs. No. 13 Syracuse | 9–5, 5–1 |
| 23 | Friday | L, 4–3 | vs. No. 7 Wake Forest | 9–6, 5–2 |
| 25 | Sunday | W, 5–0 | at Appalachian State | 10–6 |
| 30 | Friday | W, 2–1 | at No. 6 Duke | 11–6, 6–2 |
| November | ACC tournament At Karen Shelton Stadium | |||
| 3 | Tuesday | 10 a.m. | First round: vs. Stanford | ACCN |
| NCAA tournament | ||||
| 13 | Friday | TBA | First round Campus sites | |
| 15 | Sunday | TBA | Second round Campus sites | |
| 20 | Friday | TBA | National semifinals Louisville | |
| 23 | Sunday | TBA | Championship Louisville |
Photos courtesy of UNC Athletics Communications
