Duke had no intention of running with North Carolina. The No. 15 Blue Devils had to slow down the tempo to even have a chance of knocking off No. 3 North Carolina.
After the first seven minutes, things were going according to plan. North Carolina looked frustrated by Duke’s methodical attack. Trailing 2-1, the Tar Heels rushed and committed several uncharacteristic turnovers when they did manage to secure possession.
Then came the run that sent the crowd at Fetzer Field into a frenzy on Saturday. The Tar Heels scored seven straight goals to take a commanding 8-2 lead. North Carolina (13-2, 7-0 ACC) went on to beat Duke (9-7, 4-3 ACC) 16-8 to wrap up regular season play.
Although the Tar Heels were careless with the ball early on, they showed a great deal of patience when dissecting Duke’s defense.
Senior Sammy Jo Tracy exemplified that patience as she calmly probed behind the goal and waited until she found a cutting Ela Hazar. Right after Hazar caught the pass, the ball was already sailing into the goal.
After receiving ACC Offensive Player of the Week and Inside Lacrosse National Player of the Week honors a week ago, Hazar continued to validate those awards with her play on Saturday. The sophomore tallied three goals and one assist to follow her six-point outing against Syracuse.
As the Tar Heels built a comfortable lead, the clock became a factor and forced the Blue Devils to abandon their slow-paced attack. The faster tempo late in the second half allowed the Tar Heels to do what they do best. Run.
For North Carolina, the win was important because it should expect to see a similar style of play from opponents in both the ACC and NCAA tournament in an effort to slow down its transition attack.