CHAPEL HILL, N.C. –  Kealia Ohai’s opportunistic goal in the 88^th minute of play lifted 10^th-ranked North Carolina to a 1-0 victory over third-ranked Duke in women’s soccer action Thursday night before a crowd of 4,112 fans at Fetzer Field.  Carolina snapped a 10-match unbeaten streak by the Blue Devils as UNC improved to 10-2 overall and 5-1 in the ACC.  The Blue Devils fell to 13-2-1 overall and 5-1-1 in league play.

 

The match was as close as the final score would indicate as the two teams battled for the first time at Fetzer Field when Duke came in as the higher ranked team.  Carolina improves to 34-2-1 all-time against the Blue Devils and it has won seven in a row against Duke.

 

But it hardly came easy for Coach Anson Dorrance’s team as the Tar Heels benefitted from some missed opportunities by the Blue Devils in their attacking third.  Carolina withstood those challenges and eventually got the goal it needed in the waning minutes of the match.

 

The UNC goal was set up when Duke was called for a hand ball about 35 yards away from the goal with three and a half minutes to play.  The teams set up for the free kick and Courtney Jones sent a bending back to the center side of the box where UNC junior midfielder Amber Brooks slid and redirected the ball across the frame to Kealia Ohai.  Both the Duke defender and Ohai slipped to the ground pursuing the ball at the three-yard line but with the junior forward laying on her back she was able to kick the ball with her right foot and the ball slipped between Duke goalkeeper’s Tara Campbell’s legs and trickled over the goal line for the winning tally.

 

This marked the third straight game in which Ohai has scored and her goal was the fifth of the season for the Draper, Utah native.  The goal by Ohai was the first the Blue Devils have allowed in 558 minutes and 16 seconds dating back to a 2-1 win over Florida State on September 18 in Durham.  The Blue Devils had shut out its last five opponents, posting clean sheets against Miami, Clemson, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Boston College.  This marked Duke’s first loss since it fell to Auburn 1-0 on September 2 in Auburn, Ala.

 

Conversely, the Tar Heels have now strung together four successive ACC wins over Florida State, Miami, Clemson and Duke after losing to Virginia 1-0 in double overtime at Fetzer Field on September 25.  UNC will face another difficult challenge on Sunday when the Tar Heels play host to No. 4-ranked Wake Forest (11-1-2, ACC 4-0-2) at 1 p.m. at Fetzer Field.

 

Duke outshot the Tar Heels 12-10 but Carolina had an 11-1 edge in corner kicks.  Campbell finished with three saves for Duke.  For Carolina, Adelaide Gay made one save, a game-changing stop against Gilda Doria in the 44^th minute and Anna Sieloff made three second-half saves for Carolina including one on a shot by Molly Patham in the 58^th minute that appeared destined to give the Blue Devils the lead.

 

Finishing was an issue for both teams in the game.  Neither team got off shots in the first 15 minutes of play before Courtney Jones’ strike went high at the 15:33 mark.  Campbell saved Crystal Dunn’s shot at the 19:13 mark before Duke had several great opportunities in the succeeding minutes. Laura Weinberg’s shot at an empty net went high with 24 minutes left in the half and Ohai countered on the other end but her shot from 20 yards out with 16 minutes left sailed high.

 

The Blue Devils had two excellent chances to take the lead late in the first half.  Chelsea Canepa had a look at an empty net after a scramble in the box with 14 minutes left in the half but her shot went across the width of the goal mouth before being cleared away.  Gilda Doria’s strike from distance with pace with 1:21 left in the half seemed to be headed inside the left post before Adelaide Gay laid out and tipped it across the goal line for a goal kick.

 

The second half seemed to be played in stages with momentum swings each way.  The biggest save of the half came with 32 minutes to play when Mollie Patham found herself alone in the box.  Her shot from 15 yards out was smothered by Anna Sieloff, keeping the game knotted at 0-0.  Sieloff came up big again with 25 minutes left when Gilda Doria sent a long service into the box that ended up being a shot on goal.  Sieloff was able to screen off the Duke player running on to the ball and gobble it up.

 

With 20 minutes to play Crystal Dunn was fouled by Duke’s Alex Straton 22 yards away from the goal line.  Carolina’s Alyssa Rich sent a direct kick with some spin on it past the Duke wall and Campbell had to dive on the ball and secure it.  Prior to UNC’s goal, Duke had another great chance to get a result but freshman Katie Trees’s shot from about eight yards out on a 2-on-1 situation against Sieloff went just wide of the near post.

 

Carolina’s defense held firm after Ohai’s goal as the Tar Heels posted their third clean sheet in the past four games.  After giving up four goals to Texas A&M on September 11, the Tar Heels have allowed only three goals in their last six games.