The women's soccer team relinquished a 2-0 lead and lost its fourth consecutive match with a 3-2 loss to Clemson in overtime Saturday night at Koskinen Stadium.
The Blue Devils dominated play for the third straight game but could not convert their opportunities in the second half or overtime. Head coach Robbie Church was satisfied with his team's performance at the onset of the match but noted a pivotal time period when Duke could have taken advantage of Clemson's defense.
"I thought we started out great," Church said. "We found a real good rhythm of play early. Right after the first goal I thought there were some key things that happened where we missed our opportunity to get a second goal to bury them."
The Tigers' Deliah Arrington scored two goals, including the golden goal with 6:22 left in the second overtime. Arrington's speed at the forward position allowed her to beat the Blue Devil (5-6, 0-2 in the ACC) defense on timed runs on several occasions during the game. This time, she was able to get free on the right side of the field and lift her team to victory .
"She's so quick and so fast," Church said. "She has a lot of soccer savvy and could finish her opportunities. We needed to limit our mistakes and finish some things at the end."
Duke's finishing looked outstanding in the first 45 minutes of play, as Carolyn Ford and Carmen Bognanno both scored on rebound shots. Ford, a central defender, tallied her fourth goal of the season just eight minutes into the game as she found the ball inside the six yard box and beat Tiger keeper Lauren Heos.
After Ford's goal the Blue Devils' defense was challenged by Arrington on several plays. Duke's netminder, Thora Helgadottir, scrambled around the box to prevent any goal-scoring chances in the early going of the match. Duke quickly counterattacked from a Clemson (7-4, 2-1) offensive possession and earned a corner kick, which would result in its second goal.
After a commotion in the box, the ball bounced back toward the Blue Devil defense and Bognanno ripped a left-footed volley from 30 yards away. Her shot barely cleared the heads of the players inside the box before hitting the top left corner of the goal. Bognanno, who left the game with a sprained MCL in the second half, made sure she was going to put the ball on target.
"In a situation like that you want to make sure your body is over the ball because the velocity of the ball will take it where you want it to go," Bognanno said. "I just concentrated on keeping my body over the ball and struck it."
Duke's two goal lead was short-lived, as a brief mental lapse allowed Arrington to get behind the Blue Devil defense for her first on the night. The Blue Devil's took a 2-1 lead into half-time and started the second half with several opportunities from Casey McCluskey. Clemson advanced the ball upfield and forward Heather Beem took a chance from 30 yards away that carried over the outstretched arms of Helgadottir to tie the game at 2-2.
Duke kept pressure on Clemson after the game was tied as Gwendolyn Oxenham had two great opportunities on passes from Bognanno. Oxenham tried to beat Heos from the right side of the box but could not find an angle into the net. About a minute later, she squarely hit the crossbar from just outside the penalty box. Bognanno knew her team should have finished their chances to put away the Tigers.
"We had great opportunities, but we're just not finishing that final ball," Bognanno said. "I don't know if it's a lack of concentration. We're just unlucky in the final third."
Despite outshooting the Tigers and also creating far more goal opportunities, the Blue Devils lost their fourth consecutive one-goal game. Church and his squad have been practicing goal-scoring plays, but they can not seem to get over the top in a game situation.
"We missed a lot of opportunities and like the Clemson coach said, we deserved a better fate because we outplayed them both offensively and defensively," Church said. "Right now it's a cruel game and it's punishing us."
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