Martin Vician scored in the 78th minute to give Carolina a late lead against Duke, and the Tar Heels would hold for a 2-1 road victory on Friday night in their ACC opener.

Carolina trailed after Duke scored in the 12th minute but equalized just before halftime after Lucas Ross turned home a loose ball in the box. The score stayed 1-1 until Vician capitalized on a Blue Devil turnover and slotted home the winning goal.

It was Vician’s sixth goal on the season. No other Tar Heel has more than three. The graduate forward from Slovakia was part of a UNC attack which outshot Duke 10-7 overall. Carolina keeper Andrew Cordes made only one save on the night, but it loomed large, stopping a potential Duke equalizer in the 87th minute. The Blue Devils wouldn’t find another shot on goal.

Carolina has now beaten Duke in each of the last two seasons. The Tar Heels are still unbeaten in 2024 at 4-0-2 overall and 1-0-0 in ACC play. Next up for UNC is another rivalry clash, as NC State visits Dorrance Field on Friday, September 20 at 7 p.m.

 

Featured image via UNC Men’s Soccer on Twitter


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