CHAPEL HILL -- North Carolina women's soccer coach Anson Dorrance has long said that despite his program's 21 national championships, if one went into his office they would see the success is not by design.
For Kealia Ohai's game-winning goal against No. 3 Duke on Thursday night, the same could be said.
The sophomore, while lying on her back in front of Blue Devil goalkeeper Tara Campbell, kicked the ball up to herself, allowed it to bounce once and then struck the ball that squeaked between Campbell's legs and into the net in the 88th minute. Ohai's goal broke a scoreless tie and gave the No. 10 Tar Heels a 1-0 home win.
With 2:45 left in the game, a Duke handball gave the Tar Heels (10-2, 5-1 ACC) a free kick just outside the box for their best chance in the second half. Senior forward Courtney Jones crossed the ball to Amber Brooks, who fell while passing to a falling Ohai before the ball crossed the goalline.
"(Amber) said, 'You can either shoot it or you can cross it to me,' and I was like, 'Let's do that,'" Jones said. "I felt that if I shoot it there's a chance it can go over and if I cross to her, it'll still be in play no matter what. We went with that option."
Duke head coach Robbie Church said the game wasn't lost on the late goal. Instead, he pointed to the Blue Devils' poor play to start the game that doomed his squad.
"We didn't play well in the first half," Church said. "We played tentatively; we played scared the first 25-30 minutes. You can't come on a top-10 team's field and play passive."
Duke (13-2-1, 5-1-1) found its game late in the first half but couldn't connect. With less than two minutes remaining in the half, the Blue Devils caught UNC goalie Adelaide Gay out of position but Katie Trees' shot was saved by a UNC defender in goal. Gay retreated back to the goal and was able to save Kim DeCesare's rebound shot to keep the match scoreless.
Church's team had to play the rivalry match without leading scorer Kelly Cobb. The freshman forward, who has a team-high eight goals, rolled her ankle during Monday's practice and had not recovered in time for the game.
"Let's face it, they were missing Kelly Cobb, who is one of the best strikers in the nation," Dorrance said. "So we don't have any illusions or delusions about where we are. We know we still have a lot of work to do."
Duke bounced back from its slow first-half by outshooting the Tar Heels 6-3 in the second frame. UNC was unable to create anything from their 11 corner kicks.
UNC hosts No. 4 Wake Forest on Sunday while the Blue Devils will take a week off before facing the Demon Deacons.
