Duke needed 65 minutes to break through Friday, but once redshirt sophomore Malinda Allen scored her first goal of the season to put the Blue Devils ahead 1-0, they could breathe a bit easier.
Thanks to second-half scores from Allen and junior captain Christina Gibbons, third-seeded Duke beat Florida Gulf Coast 2-0 in the second round of the NCAA tournament at Dennis R. Dizney Stadium in Gainesville, Fla. The methodical victory against the Eagles sends the Blue Devils to the Sweet 16 for the seventh time in the last decade.
“I thought we came and had some nerves in the first half,” head coach Robbie Church said in Duke's postgame press conference. “[We did not play] the tournament last year [and now we had] freshman and sophomore classes on the field, a very young team, but I thought they did a fantastic job at halftime. I think the turning point was when we had a little bit of a break, we gathered everyone together for a bit and we settled coaches and players down. We really played some good soccer at the end to get both of those goals.”
The Blue Devils (12-5-4) started slow against Florida Gulf Coast and were outshot in the opening period 5-3. But they did not look back after taking the lead off of a set piece with 25 minutes to play.
In the 65th minute, sophomore Casey Martinez took a free kick from the left side of the field. The Eagle defenders near the penalty spot could not send away Martinez’ curling cross and the bouncing ball found Allen inside the small box. The Memphis, Tenn., native finished the play with a first touch that senior goalkeeper Brittany Brown could not stop.
Eight minutes later, the referee called a foul as Blue Devil freshman Kayla McCoy entered the 18-yard box. From the penalty spot, Gibbons rifled a low shot to the right cementing the Blue Devil victory.
“We practice a lot of set pieces and that’s something I really want to be good at,” Allen said. “I got on the far post, and I had a couple teammates telling me that this was my ball and to make a difference in the game. I kind of lost it in the sun and it flicked over the top, and then I saw it right on the ground in front of me. I knew it wasn’t going to be pretty if I got in there, and I had to use my body and get in there for the team.”
Sophomore forward Imani Dorsey did not play against Florida Gulf Coast (14-6-2) due to an injury she suffered in the Blue Devils' 5-0 rout of James Madison Nov. 13, opening a spot on the Duke attack for Martinez. The Towson, Md., native led the Blue Devils’ offense with three shots in her first start of the season.
McCoy and sophomore midfielder Ashton Miller also had one goal chance a piece but could not find the back of the net Friday afternoon.
“They’re a good team, and credit to them on coming out in the first half and putting us on our back foot,” Gibbons said. “We needed to calm down and reassure each other a little bit. In the first half we tried to do too much at some times, and in the second half we played our game a little bit more. I think that getting a chance to come together at halftime, talk it over and compose ourselves was really important.”
Despite its solid opening period, Florida Gulf Coast only managed to put two of its eight shots on frame. Tabby Tindell entered the match with 17 goals to her name—the seventh-most in the nation—but the Blue Devil defenders held on and prevented the Eagle forward from registering a single shot through 90 minutes Friday.
Sophomore goalkeeper E.J. Proctor collected two saves and posted her 10th solo shutout this season—the second-best mark in the history of Duke’s program.
“The key to keep the sheet clean was that all the 10 players that were on the field worked hard to defend and helped out the people around them to prevent any difficult shot [from the Eagles],” Proctor said. “It was a group effort. Everyone of the team was aware of their strengths and how they liked to play to stop them from having any good opportunity.”
The Blue Devils will spend the weekend in Gainesville, as they will battle second-seeded Florida—which took care of William & Mary 5-2 Friday evening—Sunday at 2 p.m looking to capture a spot in the Elite Eight.
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