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Program-record 9 Duke women's soccer players score in 9-1 season-opening blowout of Wofford

<p>Decorated freshman Ella Stevens scored the first goal of her Duke career Friday on a highlight-reel tally after a feed from Racioppi.</p>

Decorated freshman Ella Stevens scored the first goal of her Duke career Friday on a highlight-reel tally after a feed from Racioppi.

Friday couldn't have gone much better for the Blue Devils.

After senior Rebecca Quinn won a bronze medal with Canada in the afternoon, the No. 3 Blue Devils opened the regular season against Wofford in the UNC Nike Classic.

Even without one of its best players, Duke wasted little time making a statement. The Blue Devils broke a program record as nine different players scored in a 9-1 clinic Friday evening at Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill. Duke scored three times in the first 11 minutes, sat its starters for much of the second half and tied a program record with nine goals in one game. 

Blue Devil head coach Robbie Church and his staff also used 24 players, allowing their team to stay fresh for their next contest against Central Florida Sunday at 1 p.m.

"We were just better than they were, we were more athletic than they were," Church told GoDuke.com. "But I didn't think we just relied on that. I didn't think we relied on [one-on-ones] to score goals."

Senior Toni Payne began the onslaught, scoring from 12 yards out off a feed from freshman midfielder Olivia Erlbeck. Sophomore Taylor Racioppi then assisted junior Imani Dorsey and sophomore Kayla McCoy during the next six minutes, and added her first tally of the year in the 20th minute.

Last year's points leader for the Blue Devils (1-0), Racioppi went for one goal and three assists Friday. 

"You couldn’t have asked for a better start," Church said.

After the first wave of substitutions, freshman Ella Stevens continued pouring it on by making her first career goal one for the highlight reel.

Racioppi navigated her way around several defenders in the 18-yard box, then passed the ball to an open Stevens at the top of the six-yard box. The ball went behind Stevens, so the Gatorade National High School Player of the Year flicked the ball over her head then hit a one-time volley across her body and past Wofford's goalkeeper.

"I want to see it on tape. For me, it looked phenomenal, it looked fantastic," Church said of the goal. "She's just fun to watch. She's going to be a big part of our team this year and she's going to be a big part of our team in the future."

The Blue Devils dictated play throughout the game, holding Wofford (0-1) to four shots all game. The Terriers' one goal came late in the contest after a bad pass from Duke’s backfield. 

The early lead allowed Church to experiment with different combinations of players, a goal he had in mind before the game. The Blue Devils might not have that luxury Sunday against Central Florida, which fell 2-0 to North Carolina Friday. The Knights boast 2015 AAC Offensive Player of the Year Carol Rodrigues and have made the last nine NCAA tournaments.

"We know the competition is going to go up really, really quickly on Sunday," Church said. 

Duke finished scoring in the first half with its sixth goal coming on a Mary Love Taylor header. The sophomore defender's first career goal came off a Casey Martinez free kick. 

In the second half, senior Krysia Sikora scored the first goal of her career, and Martinez also put one past the keeper in the 61st minute. Up 8-0, freshman Lexi Magliarditi powered a shot from the top of the box into the top-left corner of the goal for the team’s final goal of the match. 

One of the few concerns for the Blue Devils came when Lizzy Raben went down with an injury less than 25 minutes into the game, but the senior defender walked off the field on her own power. Church said the staff was just being cautious, adding that he feels good about where the co-captain is and that she will go through testing Saturday. 

Friday's contest marked he first game broadcasted on ACC Network Extra, an online platform the ACC and ESPN established last month

“I loved having nine different players scoring nine goals," Church said. "Collectively, we were sharp.”

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