Carolina took the lead early against No. 1 Duke in the College Cup in Cary on Friday and kept the Blue Devils at bay the rest of the night, throttling its ACC rivals 3-0 in the national semifinals. UNC will play for the national championship on Monday night.
“Tonight was an extraordinary night,” said interim head coach Damon Nahas afterward. “The determination from this team, the will. We talk about refusing to lose, and that’s exactly who they are. This is a special group.”
Kate Faasse struck the early blow in the 10th minute, converting a penalty kick won by Maddie Dahlien. It was Faasse’s 20th goal of the season, the most of any player in Division 1. Despite consistent Duke pressure after the goal, Olivia Thomas doubled the Carolina advantage on a counterattack in the 24th minute. Thomas accounted for three of UNC’s five shots on goal and hit the frame of the goal twice.
“We wanted to be the aggressor early,” Nahas said. “We really wanted to put them on their heels early… and when you talk to a group of girls like this, you can tell they were just ready for it.”
The Blue Devils kept pressing, hitting the post on a long-range shot, but could not find a way past Clare Gagne in the UNC net. The score was 2-0 at halftime.
After the half, Dahlien added even more insurance for Carolina, converting off an assist from Faasse. UNC led 3-0 and carried that lead for the final half-hour of play.
Duke ended with a 17-9 advantage in total shots. Gagne finished the evening with five saves, all of which came in the first half. It was the first time the Blue Devils had been shut out since their opening match of the season on August 15.
The Tar Heels’ 3-0 win comes after Duke had not allowed a single goal in its previous four NCAA Tournament matches. The Blue Devils finish the season 18-3-1, with two of their three losses coming to UNC. The two teams met four times overall.
“We went in with no fear. That was our motto today,” Faasse said. “And I think from the get-go, we had momentum with us. And we didn’t let our foot off the brake.”
Carolina moves to 21-5 overall and will face No. 2 seed Wake Forest, which beat Stanford in the night’s first semifinal, in the national championship match on Monday night at 7:30 p.m. in Cary. It’s UNC’s 28th appearance in the championship match, and the Tar Heels are seeking their 23rd national title in program history. The team hasn’t lifted the trophy since 2012.
Featured image via UNC Women’s Soccer on Twitter
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