Duke Drops 1-0 Decision to UNC in Double Overtime

Saturday, September 24

Chapel Hill, N.C.

1:00 PM

Duke University

North Carolina

Duke Drops 1-0 Decision to UNC in Double Overtime

9/24/2011 2:54:00 PM | Field Hockey

By: Duke Sports Information

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - For the second straight game, the Duke field hockey team took the No. 2 ranked team in the country to double overtime, but the Blue Devils came up just short as North Carolina registered the gamewinner 27 seconds into the second overtime period to earn the 1-0 victory over the ninth-ranked Blue Devils Saturday afternoon at Henry Stadium.

The loss drops Duke to 5-4 overall and 1-1 in the conference, while North Carolina moves to 8-1 (1-0 ACC) on the year. The Tar Heels owned a 15-5 advantage in shots on the afternoon, but North Carolina only put only six on goal as redshirt senior goalkeeper Samantha Nelson made five stops to keep UNC off the scoreboard for over 85 minutes. A steady rain fell during the majority of the game and neither team was able to dictate the tempo for the match with time of possession being mostly even.

"If you can compete for over the 70 minutes when you battle against No. 1 and No. 2 in the country back-to-back, then you can only be proud," said head coach Pam Bustin. "You can only be happy that two great teams are going at it. We're going to learn a lot from this game about how close we are. Our play has been consistent; we just have to have confidence in the finish."

At the conclusion of the first half, the Tar Heels held the advantage in both shots (5-1) and penalty corners (2-0), but neither team put together a dangerous scoring opportunity.

The second half ended much like the first with the teams even at 0-0. Both Duke and North Carolina registered three penalty corners in the second stanza, but again neither team converted on the opportunity.

Duke's best scoring chance of the afternoon came in the first overtime as senior Rhian Jones slipped past the UNC defense and received the ball in the circle. Jones moved to the right of the goalkeeper, but was slowed up just enough for the North Carolina defense to recover.

Twenty-seven seconds into the second overtime period, North Carolina's Elizabeth Stephens made her way through the Duke defense and fired a shot from close range. A diving Nelson came out and made the initial stop, but Stephens came up with the rebound and put the ball in the cage for the gamewinner.

The Blue Devils will hit the road again next weekend with Duke headed to Boston for a pair of contests. Duke will face Boston College Friday, Sept. 30 before taking on Boston University Sunday, Oct. 2. Both games are set for 1 p.m., starts.

-d-u-k-e-