Missing two star offensive players, the Blue Devils entered Thursday night’s game trying to break a streak of three consecutive scoreless draws against the Cardinals.
But after 110 minutes of action, neither team could get on the scoreboard once again.
Despite outshooting Louisville by a staggering 31-9 margin, No. 6 Duke never found the back of the net in a 0-0 finish Thursday night at Koskinen Stadium. The Blue Devils got strong efforts from freshman Ella Stevens, sophomore Taylor Racioppi and a possession-heavy attack, but were unable to put most of their shots on target against the Cardinals.
“They dropped deep on us with a lot of people in front of the goal. They made us settle for some shots outside, [and] we were just off a little bit on that final ball,” Duke head coach Robbie Church said. “Two or three times, we almost slid the ball in.”
Although they got off to a slow start, the Blue Devils (6-2-2, 1-0-1 in ACC) showed more intensity in the second half. In the 55th minute, Stevens and junior Imani Dorsey transitioned a close shot from Louisville’s Brooklynn Rivers into a counterattack that led to a two-on-two scoring chance just outside the goalkeeper’s box. But an errant pass by Stevens sent the ball away from Dorsey and ended one of Duke’s closest attempts at an open goal.
“We were settling for a lot of shots we didn’t need to take,” Dorsey said. “We have a history of being able to finish a lot of shots from far range, but for this season that hasn’t been working so far. We’re a talented enough team to break defenses down and get in behind their back line and get crosses in. We’re rushing ourselves too much, we’re too frantic. If we just calm down and get our composure back, we should be good.”
Following Stevens’ attack, Racioppi took two deep shots at the net in a seven-minute span. One was off target and one was blocked at point-blank range by Cardinal goalkeeper Taylor Bucklin, who finished with seven saves. Duke freshman Olivia Erlbeck had one of the team’s other good scoring chances off a free kick, but the ball went wide to the right. Outside of the few attempts, the Blue Devil offensive attack stayed quiet.
Duke’s difficulty finding the back of the net has been a recurring issue during its start to the season. After a nine-goal explosion to start the year against Wofford, the Blue Devils have tallied only 15 goals in their last nine games. Although the offense has been aggressive in attacking downfield, Duke has been struggling to follow-up on deep shots, especially during nonconference play.
With the offense struggling, Church’s defense has picked up the slack. Louisville (6-2-2, 1-0-1) was largely quiet on offense, except for a shot from freshman Arianna Ferraro just inches from the goal post. The Cardinals finished the game with only one corner kick and took just five shots on goal.
“We actually emphasized defense and finally got a zero on the board, which you can see,” Church said. “Even if you don’t score, at least you come out with a tie and come out with some points. I’m just going to roll with it.”
The first half was dominated by Duke possession and not much aggression, with senior Christina Gibbons consistently weaving through the entire Cardinal defensive line but finding no one to connect with at the net. Although Louisville tried to push the ball to the Blue Devils’ side of the field, neither side was able to make any strong plays in the first 45 minutes, and the stalemate continued into the second half and two uneventful overtime periods.
Duke was without sophomore Kayla McCoy and 2016 Olympian and senior Rebecca Quinn for Thursday’s contest. McCoy—who was named ACC player of the week—has tallied four goals this season, but will be out for the remainder of the year with a torn Achilles. Quinn may also be out for a period of time as she deals with a day-to-day injury.
“We would have loved Kayla to have been on the end of some of those today, shooting and finishing. But she’s not going to come back this year,” Church said. “You can’t lose a player like Kayla and not feel it, but [I] really felt that the other players that played in those positions played really well.”
The Blue Devils will look to get their offense back in rhythm when they next take the field Sunday at 4 p.m. at No. 19 Virginia Tech.
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