College soccer is bringing a taste of the NWSL to the field.
In their ACC tournament semifinal matchup Thursday, Duke and UNC were locked in a scoreless tie. Duke player Maggie Graham took down UNC’s Talia Dellaperuta, who shoved her in retaliation. In response, Graham showed two middle fingers to her opponent.
As a result of the double bird, Graham received a red card and was removed from the match.
I saw this chatter last night and thank everything for the broadcast archives Maggie Graham had enough of UNC's shit https://t.co/0jaraGfy6y pic.twitter.com/RZeOVOyiR7— Douglas Reyes-Ceron (@dreyesceron) November 4, 2022
I saw this chatter last night and thank everything for the broadcast archives Maggie Graham had enough of UNC's shit https://t.co/0jaraGfy6y pic.twitter.com/RZeOVOyiR7
It was, according to head coach Robbie Church, the first red card issued to Duke during his 22-year tenure.
The game later advanced to penalties, which the No. 1 seed Tar Heels won 7-6.
North Carolina will now face off against Florida State in Sunday’s championship game.
Graham is not the first women’s soccer player to face consequences from such a gesture this year.
In September, the Washington Spirit’s Amber Brooks was suspended and fined for flipping the double bird at a referee during a game. Two weeks later, Chicago’s Bianca St. Georges issued a similar response to a referee and was issued a red card.