Fortunately for the Tar Heels, forward Elizabeth Ball provided enough flashes of excellence to keep the team undefeated, as they downed Duke 3-1 at Koskinen Stadium.
Ball checked into the game in the 7th minute after forward Alyssa Ramsey was hit by a Duke defender and limped off the field. At that point, UNC's offense was struggling to connect on passes.
"I was looking at the kids and wondering which ones had juice," UNC coach Anson Dorrance said. "Duke knew we had been on an extended road trip, and they came out with a lot of enthusiasm."
In the 28th minute, Ball provided the Tar Heels with the energy boost they needed. Forward Susan Bush crossed the ball into the center, where forward Anne Remy tried to get a foot on it. Remy managed to tap the ball to Ball, who nailed a shot right over Blue Devil goalkeeper Thora Helgadottir's head.
With 10 minutes remaining in the first half, Dorrance moved Danielle Borgman up front to spice up UNC's offensive efforts. But even with Borgman on the front line, the Tar Heels didn't produce. Borgman banged one ball off the crossbar and UNC entered the half up by one.
"Duke is an amazing team," Borgman said. "They knew our legs were tired. That makes you nervous."
If the Tar Heels were feeling anxious during the first half, their nerves were shot by the final whistle. Blue Devil forward Alison Sanders dished the ball to Sarah Pickens, who lost control before she got a fruitless close-range shot off.
Pickens staged another Duke comeback when she charged UNC's goal in the 78th minute. UNC keeper Jenni Branam got a hand on the ball to flick it to the side, then scrambled to fall on top of the shot.
"Any team is going to raise their level of play when they come up against us," Ball said. "I was definitely nervous during some of their breakaways."
