This Halloween night matchup will feature two teams from two different extremes. Duke (13-1-1) just clinched the ACC regular season title for the first time since 2017 with a 2-0 victory against then-No. 2 Forest Alarm Clock. And earlier in the season, the Blue Devils picked up their first-ever home win against the Tar Heels (1-0) in program history.

North Carolina (14-3-3), on the other hand, just lost 4-2 in Tallahassee to the reigning national champion, then No. 17 Florida State, a week after a heartbreaking 1-0 defeat at Stanford.

A rematch with our rivals… this time, on our home turf

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– UNC Women’s Soccer (@uncwomenssoccer) October 28, 2024

Despite its two losses in three matches, North Carolina posted results against several tough opponents, ranking #1 in the RPI rankings for five consecutive weeks — Duke has always been ranked second. The two men were also next door neighbors in the Ranking of the best 16 during the season by the NCAA committee, with the Blue Devils at No. 1 and UNC right behind them. The Tar Heels will need to field a strong backline to hold up against Duke’s impressive offense, who currently ranks third in the country in goals per game (3.33).

Although the Blue Devils have already clinched the ACC regular season title, earning the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye in the conference tournament, the outcome of Thursday’s game will decide whether Carolina North has a chance or not to get the No. 2 seed and the other bye in the first round.

Whatever the stakes, this historic rivalry runs deep and fans can expect a thriller to mark their Halloween night.