The No. 4 UNC field hockey team closed out its regular season with a flourish on Friday night, defeating No. 2 Duke 2-1 in Chapel Hill. The win clinches a second straight ACC regular-season title for the Tar Heels.
After a scoreless first 45 minutes, Carolina found itself trailing just 1:49 into the fourth quarter after Duke scored on a penalty corner. But the Tar Heels answered just 26 seconds later, as Sanne Hak was in the right spot on a rebound for the put-back score. Three minutes later, it was Katie Dixon on a turnaround shot in front of the Blue Devil cage to give Carolina its first lead of the night.
That lead would stand up through a hectic final 10 minutes, one which saw two penalty corners for UNC, one for Duke and an empty Blue Devil cage for the final 3:21. Carolina goalie Maddie Kahn made two saves in the final minutes and three total to see out the win.
UNC finishes the regular season 12-3 overall and 5-1 in the ACC. The Tar Heels will enter next week’s ACC Tournament in Charlottesville, VA, as the No. 1 overall seed and six-time defending champions. They will face the winner of No. 4 seed Virginia and No. 5 seed Syracuse in the tournament semifinals on Wednesday. Virginia beat Carolina in Charlottesville on October 20. For more information on the ACC Field Hockey Tournament, click here.
Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Jeffrey A. Camarati
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