Duke kicked off ACC play firing on all cylinders, as the Blue Devils sent a message to the rest of the conference that they are a challenger for the ACC title.
Three quick goals within the first 20 minutes and stout defensive play allowed the Blue Devils to claim a 3-0 win against the Panthers Friday night at Ambrose Urbanic Field in Pittsburgh, Pa. The shutout by Duke was its second in as many games and was a result of a hard week's preparation.
“It was a great way to open up the ACC play,” Duke head coach Robbie Church said. “I thought the girls did a fantastic job of preparing themselves. They were ready to play. They were excited about playing in the ACC. They were excited about playing up here in Pittsburgh.”
The Blue Devils’ offensive onslaught first began approximately three minutes into regulation when freshman Imani Dorsey played a ball forward to senior Kelly Cobb. The Chugiak, Alaska native then set up a cross to sophomore Cristina Gibbons, who converted with her third goal in the last four games
Less than five minutes later, Dorsey and Cobb were threatening once again. Cobb delivered another crossing pass to Dorsey. The freshman then sent a shot past Panther goalkeeper Taylor Francis for her third goal of the season.
“Anytime you can score a goal early in the match and put the other team on their heels and then follow that up with a second goal…the confidence really builds for your team," Church said.
Duke’s confidence was on display in the 20th minute when Gibbons forwarded the ball to sophomore Toni Payne, who capitalized with a strike into the upper left corner of the net. Payne’s conversion tied her with Kelly Cobb for a team-best four goals on the year. Dorsey almost had her second goal of the game two minutes later, but her shot clanged off the goalpost.
By the end of the first half, Duke had not allowed any shots on goal and was in complete control.
In the second period, the Blue Devils picked up where they left off before the half. Duke’s suffocating defensive play only allowed Pittsburgh to attempt its first shot on goal in the 70th minute. Although they did not score another goal, the Blue Devils continued to attack and had several opportunities to lengthen the lead.
Sixteen of Duke’s 25 shots in the game were on goal. The Panthers only garnered a total of six shots.
“Sometimes when you get up that big you have a real tendency to drop off,” Church said. “For the overall part, we didn’t drop off.”
The three-goal advantage gave Church a chance to allocate playing time to many reserves. Goalies E.J. Proctor and Meghan Thomas played significant minutes as starting goalkeeper Ali Kershne sat for the second half.
But the dominant performance was important for the Blue Devils for more than just the rest it provided starters.
After four losses to nonconference foes to begin the season, a strong ACC campaign is essential for the Blue Devils’ hopes for postseason play in the NCAA tournament. Duke plans to focus on one game at a time and continue its consistent play of the last two games.
“The key word is consistency of play,” Church said. “We need to build and continue to build on that every game.... We have nine more regular season games left. We have to continue to play like every game is a must-win.”
The Blue Devils will continue a difficult stretch in their schedule of three straight road games this week. They travel to Raleigh, N.C., Thursday to play North Carolina State and then head to Blacksburg, Va., to take on No. 2 Virginia Tech Sunday.
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