Sophomore midfielder Ashton Miller had two reasons to celebrate her overtime goal Friday in Birmingham, Ala.—her first score of the year helped the Blue Devils orchestrate their first comeback win of the season.
After waiting out a two-hour delay due to lighting, No. 21 Duke needed extra minutes to defeat Samford 2-1 at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium Friday night, with Miller's strike in the 104th minute serving as the golden goal. After four away games, the Blue Devils are still unbeaten on the road.
Although Samford (4-3-0) scored the first goal of the contest in the 15th minute, midfielder Kara Wilson connected on a header to tie the game 15 minutes later. The teams remained deadlocked into the second 10-minute overtime, when Miller found the back of the net from 25 yards away.
The Bulldogs had the first chance to break the scoreless draw in the first minutes of the opening period but the Blue Devils (5-1-1) responded with two attempts from freshman Kayla McCoy and redshirt junior Cassie Pecht that missed the target.
Fifteen minutes into the first half, Samford junior Malcanisha Kelley—who entered the contest with six tallies—found teammate Hallie Georgi inside the box. The Bulldog defender beat Duke goalkeeper E.J. Proctor for her first goal of the season, giving the hosts the early 1-0 lead.
Just like in their 3-1 loss against California in the Duke Nike Classic, the Blue Devils found themselves trailing early. But this time, Duke managed to find the equalizer in the 30th minute thanks to a header from Wilson—the senior midfielder's first career goal in 55 games wearing the Blue Devil uniform.
Sophomore forward Imani Dorsey—who missed three consecutive games due to a hamstring injury—returned to the lineup Friday and played 63 minutes off the bench, creating a scoring chance early in the second half off the dribble that did not produce the desired result.
Duke had more scoring opportunities in the second period and outshot the hosts 9-3, but could not add a goal in regulation time and needed to play two additional periods to clinch the victory.
Three minutes into the second extra session, Wilson found Miller at midfield and the Okemos, Mich., native drilled a 25-yard shot into the top right corner of the goal. The golden goal that gave Duke the victory Friday was the second of Miller’s career and the first the Blue Devils have registered in overtime this season.
With just one week remaining before its ACC debut—a matchup with No. 3 Florida State at Koskinen Stadium Sept. 20—Duke returns to action Sunday, visiting Louisiana State at the LSU Soccer Stadium in Baton Rouge, La. The opening whistle is set for 1 p.m.
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