Heck’s Brace Beats Duke 2-1 and Gives UNC the ACC’s Top Seed for a Fifth Straight Year
Some players just own a rivalry. Ryleigh Heck scored both goals as No. 10 North Carolina beat No. 6 Duke 2-1 on Friday night in Durham, and that was enough to hand UNC a share of the ACC regular-season title and the No. 1 seed for next week’s ACC Tournament.
It also stretched Carolina’s winning run against Duke to 16 games. That’s not a rivalry anymore in the usual sense. That’s a habit.
The stakes were simple. Win, and UNC took the top seed for a fifth straight season. Lose, and they dropped to third. Heck made sure it was the first one, scoring twice from tight angles down the right, and fifth-year goalkeeper Tessa Shahbo held off a late Duke flurry to close it out.
Three teams, one title, goal difference decides it
UNC, Duke and Wake Forest all finished 6-2 in ACC play. Goal difference split them: Carolina plus 18, Wake Forest plus 11, Duke plus 5. So the Tar Heels (11-6 overall) take the top seed, Wake Forest the second seed, and Duke, who looked uncatchable a month ago, the third seed.
The tournament is at UNC’s own Karen Shelton Stadium in Chapel Hill, which is a serious advantage. Carolina open against No. 8 seed Stanford on Tuesday, 3 November at 10am ET. If they win that, it’s a Wednesday semi-final against the winner of Syracuse v Louisville. The final is Friday, 6 November at 3pm ET, and UNC are chasing a 10th straight ACC tournament title.
For our money, hosting plus Heck in this kind of form makes Carolina the team to beat, even after an up-and-down season. But Wake Forest and Duke both have the firepower to ruin that plan, and the semi-final draw means UNC could meet a Syracuse side that already knows how to beat ranked teams.
The full ACC quarter-final card, Tuesday 3 November
No. 1 North Carolina v No. 8 Stanford, 10am ET. No. 4 Syracuse v No. 5 Louisville, 12:30pm ET. No. 2 Wake Forest v No. 7 Virginia, 3:30pm ET. No. 3 Duke v No. 6 Boston College, 6pm ET. All games are on ACC Network.
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