Duke came up short in its quest to unseat the top-ranked team in the nation. The Blue Devil offense turned the game around late in the second half, but could not find the equalizer and came away empty-handed.
No. 1 Virginia defeated No. 19 Duke 1-0 Sunday afternoon at Klöckner Stadium in Charlottesville, Va., leaving the Blue Devils without a conference victory through three ACC games. The Cavaliers dominated play, outshooting the Blue Devils 19-10, including an 8-2 advantage in the first half. Although Virginia goalkeeper Morgan Stearns was forced to make six saves, the Blue Devils were unable to generate substantial offensive pressure, as the opposing defense found ways time and time again to clear the ball.
“I just didn’t think we were very sharp offensively today. They controlled a lot of the play and put us back on our heels," Duke head coach Robbie Church said. "We didn’t get a chance to get full and get our numbers full in the box. We only had ten shots on goal and they weren’t very dangerous shots.”
Virginia (8-1-1, 2-1-0 in the ACC) dominated play in the first half. Although the Blue Devils (6-3-3, 0-1-2) had the best chance of the half in the 11th minute, freshman Taylor Racioppi’s attempt just missed the post. The Cavaliers had two sustained pushes in the half with multiple shots in quick succession, but the Blue Devil defense in front of sophomore goalkeeper E.J. Proctor held firm. Defenders blocked four of Virginia’s first-half shot attempts, keeping the game scoreless entering halftime.
But the Cavaliers would not be denied for long. Just more than 10 minutes into the second half, midfielder Alexis Shaffer put the ball in the back of the net to give Virginia a 1-0 lead—a lead that would not be relinquished. The goal was Shaffer’s fifth of the year and was assisted by defender Tina Iordanou.
The Blue Devils awoke after allowing the goal. Duke’s best chance to tie the game came in the 80th minute on a header by sophomore Imani Dorsey that sailed just wide of the net. Following the opportunity, though, the Blue Devils only attempted one more shot the rest of the way—a Kayla McCoy strike that landed in Stearns’ arms. McCoy had a team-leading three shots, despite playing only 48 minutes.
“After the goal was scored, we became more aggressive," Church said. "It’s unfortunate that it took a goal to be scored for us to go into a more attacking mentality.”
The Blue Devils’ counterattack was plagued by five offsides calls, four of which occurred in the first half. The Cavaliers boast one of the best defenses in the nation, headlined by senior Emily Sonnett, the Most Outstanding Defensive Player of the 2014 College Cup. To pull off the upset, Duke had to find a way to carve through a Virginia defense that has allowed just six goals in 10 games, which proved too tall a task.
Duke’s defense limited a Cavalier offense that had scored at least two goals in each of its first eight games to only one tally. The Blue Devil back line turned in another strong performance, blocking a number of shots before they reached Proctor between the pipes. Proctor, who recorded two saves Sunday, has only allowed six goals this season.
The Blue Devils will return to Koskinen Stadium looking for their first conference victory Sunday against No. 10 Virginia Tech. Stylistically, the Hokies are very similar to the Cavaliers, and have not been shut out this season.
“We’re very, very capable of winning the rest of them out. But we have to be able in this league to play harder typically right now the whole time," Church said. "There’s some things that we have to work on each day training in practice to make ourselves better.”
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