By the end of Sunday's match in Charlottesville, Va., the scoreboard showed a 2-1 victory in the Blue Devils’ favor.
As the sun set over Thompson Field at Virginia Tech’s similarly gothic campus in Blacksburg, Va., Friday evening, the third-ranked Blue Devils thoroughly and comprehensively outclassed the hapless Hokies 1-0 to close the lid on their undefeated regular season.
No. 11 Duke journeyed to South Bend, Ind., for its last regular season contest. Competing with the fourth-ranked Fighting Irish on the hosting team’s Senior Night, the fight of both teams unequivocally matched the other’s energy.
“Of course we’re lucky to be at Duke, [but] Koskinen over [my] four years has come to mean so much to me,” said senior goalie Ruthie Jones. “And it's been really special. We've had a lot of, really, any kind of emotion on this field, and it means so much that we can sort of end it in such a positive way.”
In a year that has been full of storylines for the Blue Devils—a top-two ranking to begin the season, defeating the team they fell to at the conference tournament last fall, a tough 5-1 loss to Florida State—another came along Thursday night: a tie.
The Blue Devil supporters grew louder as the seconds ticked away, expecting to celebrate the single euphoric goal that would pull off Duke’s great escape. But it never came.
Tuesday evening’s thrashing of the Colonials at a frigid Koskinen Stadium in many ways continued a season narrative that has seen many of the same trends that Washington’s crossing resembled: victory, overcoming the odds and challenging the status quo.
Performing under pressure is not about being perfect, it’s about prevailing, and Duke, despite some second-half discombobulation, was able to fall back on a battle-tested system and do just that.
In many ways, Duke was a hummingbird in its 2-0 win against Notre Dame Friday evening at Koskinen Stadium: It was fast, it was frantic and it was fascinating. Instead of nectar in a feeder, however, the sweet substance the Blue Devils tasted was revenge.
With Duke and Florida State tied for first place in the ACC, the Seminoles took over as the sole leader after a 5-1 victory in Tallahassee, Fla., Thursday evening, ending the Blue Devils’ co-reign of the conference and undefeated status on the road this season.
In a high-stakes conference tilt at Koskinen Stadium, No. 7 Duke displayed a patient approach before receiving a second-half goal from junior defender Olivia Migli to down No. 13 Pittsburgh.
Friday's scoreless draw was tight and tense, but it ultimately lent favor to the Blue Devils, who were able to maintain their spot at the top of the ACC Coastal Division.
The seventh-ranked Blue Devils outlasted unranked Wake Forest in a 2-1 victory behind two early goals from freshman Kat Rader and spectacular defensive play from senior goalkeeper Ruthie Jones.
For as long as Peter Stroud, a junior midfielder at Duke, can remember, soccer and life have been one and the same.
Although Duke managed to come out of Tuesday’s affair with a 2-0 victory, the Blue Devils realized early on that Howard would not allow itself to be pushed aside.
In its continual quest for strategic innovation, Duke is now trying something groundbreaking: playing two formations at once.
“This one hurts. This one hurts,” said Duke head coach Robbie Church. “We had them on our field, we were good enough that we should have won the game, we created enough opportunities and enough chances to win the game.”
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The Demon Deacons were college soccer’s most formidable foe when Duke arrived in Winston-Salem, N.C. But none of that mattered when, at the conclusion of 90 grueling minutes, the Blue Devils had finally struck the Goliath between the eyes, winning 3-2.
Duke's match against Virginia at Koskinen Stadium has been rescheduled for Sunday due to the approach of Tropical Storm Ian, per a team release Thursday.
Duke battled Yale to a 1-1 draw Tuesday evening in a Sisyphean match under the lights at Koskinen Stadium.
