By R.L. Bynum
CARY — With dominant defense, No. 2 Carolina needed only a beautiful Bella Devey goal to overcome No. 12 Duke.
The No. 2-seed Tar Heels controlled much of the game but still had to sweat out the final minutes of a 1–0 victory Thursday afternoon over the No. 6-seed Blue Devils in the ACC women’s soccer tournament semifinals at WakeMed Soccer Park.
Carolina coach Damon Nahas said the performance came down to more than tactics.
“I thought our team executed what we had asked, and then there’s tactics involved in the game, and there’s different ideas, but then there’s a heart and a fight that you have in you, and you do it together,” Nahas said. “And I thought our players displayed that for the entirety of the game.”
Carolina (16–2), which had a 13–8 shot advantage, will face No. 5-seed and No. 10-ranked Virginia in the championship game at noon Sunday (ESPN). The Cavaliers (11–3–4) upset No. 1-seed and No. 4-ranked Notre Dame 1–0 in the first semifinal. UNC beat Virginia on Sept. 25 in Charlottesville, Va., 3–1.
UNC, which held 56% of the possession time, attacked aggressively early but wasn’t rewarded until the 18th minute.
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Midfielder Riley Kennedy delivered a long over-the-top pass from beyond midfield to Devey, who showed why she is the ACC Offensive Player of the Year. Devey tracked the pass like a wide receiver on a deep ball, controlled it, then beat Duke goaltender Molly Vapensky one-on-one and slipped a shot past the keeper for her 17th goal.
Devey said the connection with Kennedy came from preparation and trust.
“I locked eyes with Riley, and then I just knew that she was going to play it through,” Devey said. “And we talked about finding that space in behind, so I just made that run, took the touch down and placed it, opened my hips and just trusted my instincts in the moment.”
Nahas said the early aggression was by design, and he had no interest in holding back Devey, who sets the tone for the Tar Heels’ pressure.
“We’re always going to be aggressive. We never want to be passive. We want to be diligent. We want to be responsible for that aggression,” Nahas said. “If I try to hold her back, ultimately I’m taking away one of her strengths, and everyone has to follow that. She’s the front in regards to that type of press and that aggression, so everyone’s got to meet that and have that responsibility to do their part.”
A driving shot by Avery Oder nearly tied it in the 40th minute, but UNC freshman goaltender Peyton Trayer tipped it away from the corner, one of three saves in her fifth shutout.
Nahas credited the entire back line with helping Trayer get the shutout, noting how the group defended together from the front.
“I think everyone did their job, but Cali [O’Neill] was just ridiculously good,” Nahas said. “For a young kid, she is just fearless. But Izzy [Stratton] and Aven [Alvarez] just worked together in collaboration. We talk about defending as one, and I thought we did that today.”
The teams traded shots off the post late in the first half. UNC defender Bella Gaetino got past Vapensky in transition in the 42nd minute, but her left-footed shot on an open net hit the left post; then Duke’s Yuna Marui banged one off the right post in the 43rd minute.
With a 7–3 shot edge at halftime, the lead could have been larger, but Carolina struggled to finish in the final third.
Nahas praised Trayer for handling the pressure of the moment, particularly after a difficult sequence against Louisville in the regular-season finale. She kicked the ball out, but it went off a Cardinals player and into the goal in UNC’s 3–2 victory.
“Peyton’s been phenomenal as a young player coming in and taking the reins back there, coming off a moment against Louisville where a young player, let alone any player, has to manage that emotion,” Nahas said. “And when that goal happened against Louisville, which was a tough one, the team immediately said, ‘Don’t worry about it, we got you,’ and they did.”
Duke’s Phoebe Goldthwaite drove a shot from the right side in the 68th minute, but Trayer easily saved it.
Duke coach Kieran Hall said the Blue Devils were outplayed early but improved as the game went on.
“I thought [the Tar Heels] were really good today and called us out, especially in the first half,” Hall said. “For us, that single goal proved telling. Really happy with how we responded, especially in the second half.”
Devey broke away in transition again in the 84th minute, but Vapensky saved her low shot.
Duke pushed forward in the closing minutes, floating balls into the box and creating a scramble in front of Trayer, but the Tar Heels blocked shots and held on. Nahas said that sacrifice was what he liked most about the finish.
“You can see the sacrifice of the girls just blocking shots and doing those types of things,” Nahas said. “That’s a winning mentality.”
Nahas said the Tar Heels will not take the chance to play for a title for granted.
“There’s no assumption that you’re going to win. This is a really difficult sport to win, especially with the parity, especially in our conference,” Nahas said. “We want one more day, one more opportunity.”
Nahas singled out freshman midfielder Amari Manning, who was active across the field and gave the Blue Devils plenty to account for.
“Anybody that’s watched Amari, it’s hard to believe that she’s a senior in high school, really, by age,” Nahas said. “She was a dominant player before she went to the World Cup, and then she came right back in transition, and she does what she did. She’s someone that helps change the game before the game even starts because people have to account for her.”
Nahas said Manning’s confidence is a large part of what makes her effective.
“She’s so confident. She’s a respectful, arrogant player. That’s what I call her,” Nahas said. “She’s very talented. Knows what she wants to do, and she did it again today.”
Notes
—In UNC’s 4–2 regular-season win in Chapel Hill over Duke, the Tar Heels had a 10–6 shot edge.
—In addition to Devey’s honor, UNC defender O’Neill is the ACC Freshman of the Year. Devey and midfielder Hope Munson made first team, and defender Alvarez made second team. The third team included forward Lilliah Blum and midfielder Ashley Pennie. O’Neill, forward Scottie Antonucci and forward Manning made the All-Freshman team.
—Duke and UNC last played in the ACC tournament in the 2024 semifinals, a 2–1 Carolina win.
—UNC leads the all-time series against Duke 47–7–5, including 11–0–1 on neutral sites.
—Carolina is 16–1 when it scores the first goal.
No. 2 UNC 1, No. 12 Duke 0
Men
(First two rounds were at campus sites)
Nov. 4 first round
No. 7 seed (No. 12 ranked) North Carolina 1, No. 10 California 1 (UNC advances 4-3 on PKs)
No. 11 N.C. State 2, No. 6 Virginia Tech 1
No. 3 (No. 20 ranked) Wake Forest 1, No. 14 Boston College 1 (WF advances 6-5 on PKs)
No. 12 Stanford 2, No. 5 (No. 13 ranked) Louisville 1
No. 9 Virginia 2, No. 8 Notre Dame 2 (Va. advances 5-4 on PKs)
No. 2 (No. 5-ranked) Clemson 2, No. 15 Duke 1
No. 13 Syracuse 1, No. 4 (No. 21 ranked) Pittsburgh 1 (SU advances 7-6 on PKs)
Sunday’s quarterfinals
North Carolina 3, Clemson 2, 2 OTs
N.C. State 1, Wake Forest 0
No. 1 (seed and ranked) SMU 6, Virginia 0
Syracuse 2, Stanford 1
Thursday’s semifinals
N.C. State vs. North Carolina, 5:30, ACCN
Syracuse vs. SMU, 8:30, ACCN
Sunday’s championship
Semifinal winners, 8:30, ESPNU
Women
(First round was at campus sites)
Sunday’s first round
No. 6 (No. 12 ranked) Duke 5, No. 3 (No. 6 ranked) Wake Forest 4
No. 5 (No. 10 ranked) Virginia 3, No. 4 (No. 16 ranked) Florida State 0
Thursday’s semifinals
Virginia 1, No. 1 (No. 4 ranked) Notre Dame 0
No. 2 (seed and rank) North Carolina 1, Duke 0
Sunday’s championship
Virginia (11–3–4) vs. North Carolina (16–2), noon, ESPNU
| Date | Month/day | Time/ score | Opponent (current rankings) | Record/ TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August | ||||
| 5 | Wednesday | W, 1–0 | vs. No. 11 South Carolina | Exhib. |
| 13 | Thursday | W, 4–0 | vs. Fairfield | 1–0 |
| 16 | Sunday | W, 8–0 | vs. Quinnipiac | 2–0 |
| 20 | Thursday | W, 2–0 | at Arkansas | 3–0 |
| 23 | Sunday | L, 3–2 | vs. No. 4 Michigan State | 3–1 |
| 28 | Friday | W, 3–0 | at Shelbourne FC | Friendly |
| September | ||||
| 3 | Thursday | W, 2–1 | at Arizona | 4–1 |
| 6 | Sunday | W, 1–0 | at Arizona State | 5–1 |
| 10 | Thursday | W, 3–0 | vs. California | 6–1, 1–0 ACC |
| 13 | Sunday | W, 5–0 | vs. NJIT | 7–1 |
| 17 | Thursday | W, 4–2 | vs. No. 12 Duke | 8–1, 2–0 |
| 20 | Sunday | W, 5–0 | vs. Alcorn State | 9–1 |
| 25 | Friday | W, 3–1 | at No. 10 Virginia | 10–1, 3–0 |
| October | ||||
| 2 | Friday | W, 4–1 | vs. No. 4 Notre Dame | 11–1, 4–0 |
| 15 | Thursday | W, 1–0 | at Clemson | 12–1, 5–0 |
| 18 | Sunday | L, 3–1 | at No. 6 Wake Forest | 12–2, 5–1 |
| 23 | Friday | W, 1–0 | vs. No. 16 Stanford | 13–2, 6–1 |
| 29 | Thursday | W, 2–0 | vs. SMU | 14–2, 7–1 |
| November | ||||
| 5 | Thursday | W, 3–2 | at Louisville | 15–2, 8–1 |
| ACC tournament | Cary | |||
| 12 | Thursday | W, 1–0 | Semifinal: vs. No. 12 Duke | 16–2 |
| 22 | Sunday | noon | Final: No. 10 Virginia | ESPN |
| NCAA tournament | (first four rounds at campus sites) | |||
| 20-22 | Fri.-Sun. | First round | ||
| 26 | Thursday | Second round | ||
| 29 | Sunday | Third round | ||
| December | ||||
| 4, 5 | Fri., Sat. | Quarterfinals | ||
| 10, 13 | Thur., Sun. | Women’s College Cup Cary |
Top photo courtesy of UNC Athletics; second photo by Jackson Gerding
