'You earn the luck': Controversial no-call propels UNC men's soccer past Duke

DURHAM — Sometimes, all it takes to win a game is a little bit of luck. 

And to No. 11 UNC's fortune and Duke's lack thereof on Friday night at Koskinen Stadium, four separate plays broke in favor of the Tar Heels, resulting in a 2-1 victory. In a match defined by lucky breaks, controversy ensued when North Carolina secured the game-winning goal in the last 12 minutes of the match after a handball no-call.

The play, which infuriated the entirety of Duke’s team and the sold-out home crowd in the final minutes of Friday’s match, went down like this:

In the 78th minute, a Duke defender smashed a clearance off the body of UNC attacker Luke Hille, who was sprinting to close down space just outside the penalty box. The ball hit his abdomen and then glanced off the wrist of his extended arm. The two quick deflections dropped the ball at the feet of UNC’s nearest midfielder Jameson Charles.

As the crowd roared for the referee to call a handball, Charles played graduate forward Martin Vician into the box, allowing North Carolina’s leading goal scorer to put away the game-winning goal.  

From UNC head coach Carlos Somoano’s perspective, he can’t see the call going any other way. 

“Off the chest, maybe it was part of the arm, but the arm was in a natural position,” Somoano explained. “[It’s] ridiculous to assume anything else.” 

But the no-call had Blue Devil head coach John Kerr up in arms. 

“The refs missed it,” Kerr said. “It was a definitive handball, and they will be hopefully disappointed when they see it.” 

Maybe the culprit of the potential handball knows if the goal resulted from one? 

“No, sir,” Hille said. “That one paid off in the gym [from] a lot of core work.” 

Controversial call aside, other instances of good fortune also propelled North Carolina's win. 

The first case was a goal-line clearance in the fourth minute, where junior defender Sam Williams was in the right place at the right time. Following a corner kick, UNC goalie Andrew Cordes was caught out of position, and had it not been for Williams, Duke would have scored an early goal.  

North Carolina’s second stroke of luck came late in the first half. When Blue Devil forward Ulfur Bjornsson outpaced UNC’s backline, his shot fired off the woodwork — inches away from creating a two-goal deficit.

The Tar Heels leveled the count just two minutes later.

The third moment was contentious up until VAR review. In the 67th minute, Duke midfielder Drew Kerr's shot clanked off the crossbar before diving toward the goal line. Upon review, the ball landed square on the line — never crossing it. No goal.

These defensive stops allowed UNC to stay level, 1-1, with Duke until the match-defining call sealed the win. 

Of course, no UNC player would ever chalk a gritty road win up to something like luck. But for a physical rivalry match featuring five yellow cards and a red card, lucky breaks go a long way. 

“Our job is playing together, playing hard for every second we’re on the field,” Hille said. “And sometimes you earn the luck.” 

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