DURHAM, N.C. – In the first of two contests this season against arch-rival North Carolina, the No. 1 Tar Heels came out on top Sunday at Koskinen Stadium in Durham, N.C., with a 2-0 victory over the seventh-ranked Duke women's soccer team.
The Blue Devils fell to 1-1-2 overall and 0-1-2 in the ACC, while the Tar Heels improved to 3-0-0, 3-0-0 in the ACC.
"No question, we grew a lot today," said Duke head coach Robbie Church. "I am just sick because we deserved a better result. We made some mistakes and they capitalized. All week long, we really had a really good week. I thought the kids really worked hard. They were focused, they got some rest and we got some legs back. We made a change with Delaney up front and that could have paid huge dividends the first two minutes of the game."
Looking to get more speed up front for the Blue Devils, Church moved All-ACC defender Delaney Graham to the forward slot in Sunday's match. The moved proved to benefit Duke's offense early as redshirt senior Mia Gyau sent a cross in from the left side into the box where Graham was wide open.
A product of Atlanta, Ga., Graham fired a shot at the goal, but Tar Heel keeper Claudia Dickey made a stop to her right at the 2:08 mark.
Duke added another shot at the 12:18 mark as senior Tess Boade used some excellent footwork to beat a North Carolina defender and get inside the left edge of the box and sent a shot wide left of the near post.
Blue Devil sophomore goalkeeper Ruthie Jones, who was making her third straight start, then kept the Tar Heels off the board with two diving stops in less than a minute of each other in the 29th and 30th minutes.
Boade created a couple of good opportunities for Duke in the 31st minute as she stole the ball from a UNC defender, which led to two Blue Devil shots by Lily Nabet and Grace Watkins, but they were blocked.
North Carolina was able to strike first at the 37:43 mark, after sending a ball into the box. Jones batted the ball away from the goal, but Julia Dorsey of North Carolina did a good job of kicking the ball back across the line where it hit a Duke defender and went into the goal.
Then at the 43:21 mark, North Carolina's Asleigh Gambone crossed in a perfect pass to Izzy Brown, who appeared to turn as the ball came to her and it hit her back and went into the goal to put the Tar Heels ahead, 2-0.
At the end of the first half, North Carolina held an 8-5 advantage in shots.
Duke tried to press North Carolina and create some more opportunities in the second half, but the Blue Devils couldn't get anything past the stingy Tar Heel defense. Graham had a great look at the goal in the 50th minute, but it just sailed high over the crossbar.
The Blue Devils didn't have many excellent scoring chances until late in the match when sophomore Sophie Jones attempted a shot that was blocked and then junior Marykate McGuire used her left foot to send a shot near the far right post, but it went wide.
Duke outshot North Carolina, 6-5, in the second half, while the Tar Heels held a 13-11 edge for the match. Jones, who is from Charlotte, N.C., finished the match with six saves over 90 minutes in goal for the Blue Devils.
"We got something to build off of for sure, no question," said Church. "Everyone hurts right now but we will be back."
In her first collegiate start at forward, Graham led the Blue Devils with a career-high three shots, including two on goal.
"I had a fun time out there for sure," commented Graham about playing up front. "It's different, but I liked getting chances to score today so I would love to keep playing forward if I have a chance to."
Graham played the entire 90 minutes Sunday, after missing the previous contest with an injury.
"I think that with Emily Royson, we've got a really talented outside back and obviously that's what I played my entire time here," added Graham. "I think that the coaches are taking the opportunity to push me forward to use my speed out there versus having to run all the way from the back forward and I think that we definitely can get some chances from my speed. I think we did today and I think we will continue to."
Duke will remain at home next Sunday, Oct. 4 as the Blue Devils will face third-ranked Clemson at 5 p.m., live on ACC Network.
Notes:
• Since opening the season with four goals at Wake Forest, the Blue Devils have been limited to one goal over the last three matches. This includes two straight shutouts.
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