A heavyweight battle between two of the nation’s top field hockey teams didn’t go quite as planned for head coach Karen Shelton and the fifth-ranked Tar Heels on Friday night in Durham.
UNC came up just short in its comeback bid against No. 2 Duke, falling by a score of 3-2.
Alyssa Chillano scored a pair of goals on penalty corners in the first half to give the Blue Devils an early lead, which they were able to hang onto throughout the night.
It was just the second time all year UNC trailed at halftime.
Eef Andriessen got the Tar Heels (12-4, 3-3 ACC) on the board early into the second half, but Duke (13-2, 4-2 ACC) responded just three minutes later with a goal from Rose Tynan.
Desperately looking to make a comeback down the stretch, UNC got a goal from Feline Guenther in the final minutes–but was unable to create an equalizer.
“Hats off to Duke,” Shelton said afterwards. “I thought they defended superbly. I have to admire it and there’s not much more I can say – they played great defensively and made it really tough for our kids. Everything was contested.”
Up Next:
UNC will close out its regular season with a non-conference game on the road against Liberty on Friday, Oct. 29.
Photo via Jeffrey A. Camarati (UNC Athletics)
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