Blue Devils Surrender First Loss at UNC, 3-2

Sunday, September 25

Chapel Hill, N.C.

1:00 PM

Duke University

North Carolina

Blue Devils Surrender First Loss at UNC, 3-2

9/25/2016 3:23:00 PM | Field Hockey

Season Statistics Box Score

By: Duke Sports Information

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The second-ranked Blue Devils took control early in a top-five matchup with North Carolina, but surrendered three second-half goals in a 3-2 loss to the Tar Heels Sunday in non-conference action.

Duke was handed its first loss of the season after jumping out to the best start in program history at 8-0.

“The first half, I felt like we really competed well,” said head coach Pam Bustin. “It was a great match both ways. Second half, we're not really sure, and that's something we've got to address – how we got on the back foot. I'm proud of the way they fought through it, but I think everything we were really anticipating to play is exactly what got us today.”

The Tar Heels (8-2) controlled possession to start the contest but Duke would make good on the first shot of the game when junior Ashley Kristen put away a feed from graduate student Aisling Naughton. Kristen's tally in the third minute marked her fourth of the season and lifted the Blue Devils to the early advantage.

Led by the efforts of junior back Sarah Furey, the Duke defense remained stingy through the end of the half, limiting a North Carolina attack averaging 16 shots per game to just two looks in the opening 35 minutes. The Blue Devils created opportunities on their attacking end but the score would remain 1-0 at the intermission.

The second period saw the Tar Heels come out with increased activity on the offensive end. Duke goalkeeper Sammi Steele made a diving glove save on a North Carolina corner attempt, and the defensive unit withstood two more dangerous opportunities before Eva van't Hoog broke through to even the match in the 47th minute.

The Blue Devil defense continued to be challenged, with van't Hoog finding the back of the cage again just over three minutes later. Her goal from close range swung the lead to the Tar Heels' favor at 2-1. After some back and forth play, North Carolina capitalized off a reset, with Eef Andriessen notching the tally in the 61st minute.

Naughton provided a spark for Duke coming out of a timeout, breaking away to set up an opportunity in transition. After losing the ball briefly, Naughton recovered to bring the Blue Devils back within one at the 61:48 mark.

Duke maintained the upbeat tempo in the waning minutes, earning one more solid look, but the squad was unable to come up with the equalizer.

“UNC-Duke always makes for a good match, and I think bringing forward into next month, we can work on certain aspects,” Naughton said. “We performed really well in the first half and in the second half we kind of relaxed a little bit. We just need to find the balance in between it, keep the high tempo throughout and keep the consistency.”

Steele rounded out the contest with three saves while North Carolina's Alex Halpin made one stop on the other end. The Tar Heels outshot Duke 9-3 in the second half for an 11-6 advantage in the category, and earned five penalty corners to just one by the Blue Devils.

The Tobacco Road rivals will face off again later this season, meeting in ACC play Oct. 22 in Durham.

Next weekend's action will see Duke host Boston College Friday, Sept. 30 and Boston University Sunday, Oct. 2 at Williams Field at Jack Katz Stadium.

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