No. 2 Duke Falls to No. 4 North Carolina, 2-1

Friday, October 27

Chapel Hill, N.C.

6 p.m.

Duke University

(14-3 (5-1ACC))

North Carolina

(12-3 (5-1ACC))

Duke

North Carolina

Photo by: Duke Athletics

No. 2 Duke Falls to No. 4 North Carolina, 2-1

10/27/2023 9:30:00 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score Box Score ACC Championship Bracket

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.—Fourth-ranked North Carolina scored a pair of goals three minutes apart in the fourth quarter to capture a 2-1 victory over the No. 2 Blue Devils in ACC field hockey action Friday night at a raucous Karen Shelton Stadium.

The Blue Devils scored first on a goal from senior Charlie van Oirschot, but a pair of goals 3:18 apart proved to be the difference as North Carolina and Duke share the regular season title with matching 5-1 marks. The victory gives the Tar Heels the No. 1 seed in the upcoming ACC Tournament.

Duke drops to 14-3 overall, while North Carolina moves to 12-3 on the season.

How it Happened

North Carolina created the early scoring opportunities, earning a trio of penalty corners in the first six minutes. The Blue Devils' penalty corner defense was up to the task, blocking two and forcing the third to go wide of the cage.
The Blue Devils started to get into the attack midway through the quarter, garnering a penalty corner of their own. Macy Szukics' sweep from the Hannah Miller insert was blocked to keep the game scoreless.
The frenetic pace continued as North Carolina nearly took a 1-0 lead with under a minute to play, but the shot was ruled illegal, and the teams headed into the first break knotted at 0-0.
The second quarter was equally as high-paced and skilled. Duke had the lone penalty corner in the quarter as junior Kira Curland was unable to get a shot off. The Tar Heels fired two shots in the second period, but weren't able to put any on frame.
With Duke having a player advantage, junior Logan Clouser earned a corner for the Blue Devils in the early minutes of the third quarter. Alaina McVeigh's shot off the insert skipped just over the stick of Paige Bitting on the post for the tip-in.
Duke senior goalkeeper Piper Hampsch came up with a pair of nice saves on two UNC penalty corners midway through the third quarter to keep the Tar Heels at bay.
Blue Devil back Mary Harkins had a nice tackle in the circle on a North Carolina counterattack late in the period and the rivals headed into the fourth stanza scoreless.
The Blue Devils started the final period of regulation with a player advantage and nabbed their fourth corner of the night. This time, Szukics' shot got through the traffic, forcing Maddie Kahn to make her first save of the night.
Duke broke through for the first goal of the night in the 47th minute with a redirect from van Oirschot. Szukics was credited with the assist on the goal.
North Carolina answered 26 seconds later as Sanne Hak knocked in a rebound from a Hampsch save.
The Tar Heels nearly took a 2-1 lead minutes later, but Szukicz was there on the goal line for the defensive stop.
North Carolina continued to pressure the Blue Devils and notched the go-ahead goal from Katie Dixon.
Duke pulled its goalie in the final three minutes and McVeigh fired a shot in the closing 60 seconds, but the Blue Devils couldn't find the equalizer.
Hampsch finished the night with three saves for the Blue Devils and Kahn did the same for North Carolina. The Tar Heels outshot Duke 15-7 and had a slight 8-6 edge in penalty corners.

Notes

Duke captured a share of the ACC regular season title for the second time in program history, joining the 2016 program.
The Blue Devils' five goals allowed in ACC play are tied for the fewest in a six-game ACC slate. The 2018 squad also allowed just five goals in six conference outings.
Piper Hampsch's three saves push her career total to 266, three shy of taking over the No. 5 spot on Duke's all-time career list.
Charlie van Oirschot notched her 14th career goal and fourth of the season.
Macy Szukics registered her first career defensive save.

Quotes
Pam Bustin on the defense and Piper Hampsch
"Defensive corners were awesome. I thought Piper Hampsch had a fantastic game tonight. She made some really killer saves that really kept us in the game. I thought that overall we got stronger as the game went on and that's really good to see, really good."

Bustin on the team
I will say too I'm really proud of the way our team kept their composure under some very heavy defense. I thought it got quite physical at times and we kept it very professional and just played the game."

Bustin on moving into ACC Tournament play
"We just need to keep playing our game and get back to our game. In those critical moments seeing if we can make better decisions in recognizing them so we can come on the upside of that instead of either chasing the team towards our goal cage or giving up defensive penalty corners.

Bustin on Josephine Veen
"I was really proud of Josephine Veen. That's a big game for a freshman. Coming in playing at left back. Defensively, left back is a very crucial position. You're usually taking one of their fastest strikers. I'm really proud of the way she kept her composure and handled herself under all of that."

Up Next

Duke will play Wake Forest in the first round of the ACC Tournament, Oct. 31in Charlottesville, Va.. The opening hit is set for 3:30 p.m., on ACC Network. The winner advances to the semifinals, Nov. 1 at 3:30 p.m.