In front of the second-largest crowd in program history, UNC scored three unanswered goals in the second half to overcome a 2-1 deficit and beat No. 2 Duke 4-2 at Dorrance Field Thursday night. It was the Blue Devils’ first loss of the season and the Tar Heels’ first win of the season against a ranked opponent.
The two teams thrilled the crowd of more than 6,000 with up-and-down action all night, but it took half an hour before Carolina opened the scoring after Lilliah Blum took advantage of a poor clearance and snuck it past Duke keeper Molly Vapensky to put UNC ahead. Vapensky denied the Tar Heels’ Ashley Penney a chance to double the lead in the 40th minute, and just 30 seconds later the Blue Devils had equalized off the foot of Rylee McLanahan.
UNC nearly took the lead back in the first half’s waning seconds, as a corner kick bounced across the Duke goal mouth and deflected off the far post. The chance gone, the two teams went into halftime tied 1-1.
The Blue Devils came out strong in the second half, earning a penalty kick in the 49th minute after a UNC handball in the penalty area. Duke’s Mia Minestrella made no mistake on the penalty kick, sending it just past the outstretched Peyton Trayer in the Carolina net to give the Blue Devils a 2-1 lead.
Duke remained ahead into the match’s final 20 minutes before Blum got the Tar Heels back in it, bagging her brace by firing a deflected cross into the back of the net. UNC completely turned the match on its head less than three minutes later, as Izzi Stratton leapt to meet one of the Tar Heels’ 10 corner kicks. Her header attempt missed and she crashed to the ground, only for the ball to find her feet in a scrum anyway. Stratton was able to make good contact and sneak it past Vapensky, giving Carolina the lead back at 3-2.
Duke very nearly equalized in the final minutes, with Peyton Trayer saving one try and watching another from the Blue Devils’ Jocelyn Travers knock squarely against the crossbar. With UNC still hanging on, the Tar Heels’ Shaela Bradley removed any doubt by taking a counterattack toward the Duke net, then firing a rocket of a shot past Vapensky and into the top of the net, putting a stamp on the emphatic win.
Thursday’s win snaps a three-game losing streak in regular season matches against the Blue Devils for Carolina and a two-match losing streak against them at Dorrance Field. UNC’s four goals scored also matched the total the Blue Devils had allowed in the entire 2026 season up to this point.
UNC is now 8-1 overall and 2-0 in ACC play, having won five consecutive matches. The Tar Heels will conclude their homestand Sunday when they host Alcorn State at 1 p.m.
Featured image via UNC Women’s Soccer on Twitter
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