No. 8 Duke Drops 2-1 Overtime Heartbreaker to No. 1 North Carolina

Friday, October 31

Chapel Hill, N.C.

6 p.m.

Duke University

(11-5, 4-3)

North Carolina

(15-1, 6-1)

Duke

North Carolina

Photo by: Duke Athletics

No. 8 Duke Drops 2-1 Overtime Heartbreaker to No. 1 North Carolina

10/31/2025 8:59:00 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score Box Score

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.— North Carolina's Dani Mendez scored 3:37 into overtime to hand No. 8 Duke a heartbreaking, 2-1, loss in ACC field hockey action Friday night. The Blue Devils led 1-0 at the half before the top-ranked Tar Heels rallied for the win.

Duke closes the regular season at 11-6 and 4-4 in league action. North Carolina moves to 16-1 overall and nabs a share of the ACC regular season crown with a 7-1 record.

Macy Szukics scored the goal for the Blue Devils, but it was Ryleigh Heck finding her way into the circle and sending the ball across the face of the goal for Mendez to tap that proved to be the difference.

How it Happened

The Blue Devils, just like they have done all season, got off to a fast start, grabbing a 1-0 lead in the ninth minute on a Szukics goal. Julia Boehringer earned Duke its first penalty corner of the night to set up the Szukics score. Madison Beach provided the stop on Alaina McVeigh's insert, setting up a perfect sweep by Szukics past North Carolina goalkeeper Katie Wimmer.
Duke did well to control possession in the first 15 minutes, holding the high-powered UNC offense to only one shot.
Coming out of the first break with a 1-0 lead, the Blue Devils shined on defense in the second period. In a reversal of the first quarter, North Carolina held the majority of possession, putting pressure on Duke's backfield throughout the 15 minutes.
Kaiya Chepow came up with a pair of stops in the quarter, including a point-black save on Ryleigh Heck, to send the Blue Devils into halftime up 1-0.
North Carolina was on the front foot in the early minutes of the third quarter, but the Blue Devils started to get into the game midway through. Brynn Crouse had a good look at the cage denied by UNC goalie Merritt Skubisz.
The Tar Heels pressure paid off in the 38th minute as they evened the score with a penalty corner goal from Isabel Boere.
All even on the scoreboard after 45 minutes, Duke nearly went ahead in three minutes into the fourth period as McVeigh's attempt to beat Skubicz on the near post just missed wide.
Duke earned consecutive penalty corners moments later but couldn't come away with the go-ahead score.
With just over two minutes remaining in regulation, Chepow denied Charly Bruder on the doorstep to send the game into overtime.
McVeigh had the first shot of overtime, sailing her hit into the side of the net.
Heck and Mendez connected less than a minute later to lift the Tar Heels to victory.
North Carolina held a 17-7 advantage in shots with Chepow finishing with five saves. Both teams had four penalty corners apiece.

Notes

Duke held North Carolina scoreless in the first half for the fourth time this season. It was just the second time this season the Tar Heels trailed at halftime.
Macy Szukics registered her third goal of the season and the seventh of her career. Her 10 points this season are a career best.
Alaina McVeigh recorded her eighth assist this season, giving her 28 points on the year and 93 for her career. She now sits alone in 14th in career points at Duke.
The Blue Devils scored their 11th first-quarter goal this season and their 16th on a penalty corner. Duke has outscored its opponents 26-4 in the first 30 minutes this season.
Duke moves to 59-63-7 all-time in overtime games and 0-2 this season.

Up Next

The Blue Devils will be either the No. 4 or No. 5 seed, depending on the outcome between Syracuse and Louisville Saturday. An Orange victory puts Duke at No. 5 and Syracuse at No. 4. A Louisville win means Duke will be the No. 4 seed and will take on No. 5 seed Cal in the quarterfinals – Nov. 4 at 12:30 p.m.

To stay up to date with Blue Devils field hockey, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeFH".

#GoDuke