Durham, N.C. — The North Carolina men's soccer team defeated Duke 2-0 on Friday evening, behind excellent defense from junior goalkeeper Alec Smir in the rivalry matchup.
What happened?
UNC traveled to Durham to play the Duke Blue Devils on Friday night in its 2020 season opener. The Tar Heels made sure to waste no time in opening their 2020 scoring account, with senior defender Matt Constant heading home a set piece cross from junior midfielder Milo Garvanian to give the team a 1-0 lead.
After the quick start from the Tar Heels, the game became gridlocked, with both teams putting in hard challenges all over the field. With about 10 minutes remaining in the first half Duke got a head onto the end of a set piece from about 35 yards out, forcing Smir to make a flying fingertip save to push the ball over the crossbar.
The second half saw a much more open game than the first, but maintained the rough and competitive nature. Duke came the closest to finding the back of the net in the second half. Blue Devil defender Lewis McGarvey put his head onto the end of a corner kick forcing Smir to make a sprawling reflex save to keep the ball out of the top left corner.
Just under two minutes later, the Tar Heels found themselves with a free kick perfectly placed on the top of the left side of the box. Taking advantage of a big deflection off of the Duke wall, senior forward Santiago Herrera slotted home UNC's second goal of the night and secured the victory for the Tar Heels. While Duke did get a few looks at the goal in the closing minutes, the Tar Heels were able to hold strong and secure 2-0 victory over the Blue Devils.
Who stood out?
Smir was the player of the game for the Tar Heels, coming up with two highlight saves that would later prove to be game savers for the Tar Heels. He expertly commanded the back line and saved every shot that he faced to secure the clean sheet and the win for North Carolina.
