The No.16 North Carolina men’s soccer team (4-2-1, 0-2-0 ACC) lost to its rival, No.12 Duke (5-1-0, 2-0-0 ACC), in a 3-0 shutout on Sunday night in Chapel Hill for the team's second straight conference loss.
What happened?
In the fifth minute, Duke got on the board first when a shot by Shakur Mohammed found the back of the net to make the score 1-0. Just two minutes later, UNC looked to equalize when junior Cameron Fisher shot on goal, but was stymied by Duke goalkeeper, Eliot Hamill.
The Blue Devils scored again a few minutes later when Amir Daley rebounded a missed shot and put in a goal of his own. The Tar Heels attempted to even up the score less than two minutes later with two shots by sophomore Ernest Bawa and graduate Santiago Herrera, but neither were successful. UNC continued to fight with eight more shots, but ultimately fell short and the score remained 2-0 at halftime.
Duke dominated the first half and played fast and hard, stealing the ball several times and moving it precisely and quickly down the field. UNC hustled hard and out-shot the Blue Devils but couldn’t net any goals.
The second half did not bring redemption for the Tar Heels. Fisher attempted another shot early but was stopped by Hamill once again. Duke solidified its victory with their third and final goal less than five minutes into the second half. Both teams got increasingly more physical as the half went on, with three yellow cards — which led to a red card — for the Blue Devils and two yellow cards for the Tar Heels.
The Tar Heels continued to try and claw their way to at least one goal to the last minute, but when the game ended, the scoreboard signaled a 3-0 Blue Devil victory.
“We’ve just got to put the pieces together, the connections are not there right now,” said head coach Carlos Somoano. “We’re trying to restructure the team, reorganize the team after a couple injuries so we’re just trying to figure that out.”
