A rivalry showdown between two of the nation’s top five field hockey teams saw No. 1 UNC pull out a 2-0 victory over the No. 4 Duke Blue Devils in Durham on Friday night.

The win improved the Tar Heels to 8-0 (2-0 ACC) this season, while dropping the Blue Devils to 6-3 (1-1 ACC).

Catherine Hayden scored in the 23rd minute to put UNC in front, while freshman Erin Matson delivered the dagger when she sent home a rebound in the 56th minute.

For both Hayden and Matson, it was their seventh goal of the season.

Duke only managed to rack up nine shots all night long against the stingy Tar Heel defense, while UNC tallied 20 on the other end.

It was the Tar Heels’ first win over Duke on the road since 2014.

“I’m absolutely delighted to win this game on Duke’s home field,” UNC head coach Karen Shelton said afterwards. “They had an awesome crowd and they really gave us a hard-fought game. I thought both teams played hard and it was somewhat physical, as the Duke game always is.”

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The Tar Heels will return to the field on Wednesday when they host Virginia at noon in a game that was rescheduled due to Hurricane Florence.

 

 

Photo via Jeffrey A. Camarati (UNC Athletics)

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