SPORTS  |  SOCCER

Fast start carries Duke women's soccer to bounce-back win at Pittsburgh

The Blue Devils are one win away from the ACC regular season title

<p>Freshman Ella Stevens has become a star for the Blue Devils since sophomore Kayla McCoy went down with a season-ending injury.</p>

Freshman Ella Stevens has become a star for the Blue Devils since sophomore Kayla McCoy went down with a season-ending injury.

After a heart-wrenching 1-0 loss at No. 9 Florida State Thursday, Duke was again on the road Sunday looking to get back on track for the season’s home stretch.

Thanks to two goals in the first 10 minutes, the Blue Devils got the bad taste out of their mouths in a flash and are now just one win away from the ACC regular-season title.

No. 4 Duke bested Pittsburgh 2-0 at Ambrose Urbanic Field in Pittsburgh, going up early on goals by senior Toni Payne and freshman Ella Stevens and controlling the tempo the rest of the way. The steady performance marked the Blue Devils’ ninth shutout of the year and fourth win in five ACC road games, setting up a home contest in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament next Sunday.

“Our girls were really hungry to get back on the field,” Duke head coach Robbie Church said. “We created a lot of shots, created a lot of opportunities and had the ball for the most part. It wasn’t very dangerous. It was a good, solid win.”

In just the fourth minute, a number of passes in the midfield set up senior Christina Gibbons about 40 yards away from the goal. The All-American turned away from her defender with her first touch on the ball, dribbled toward the goal and set up Payne at the top of the box. Payne then finished with a strike into the top right corner of the frame, just out of the reach of senior goalkeeper Taylor Francis.

Gibbons may have suffered a confidence hit after missing from point-blank range against the Seminoles off a late penalty kick, but when it came to playmaking Sunday, she looked just as dynamic as ever. The co-captain now has a team-high eight assists on the season, playing a fluid role primarily as a defensive midfielder.

“That first goal is so important,” Church said. “We’re not as deep as we were in the attacking position, but all of our attacking players are playing well.”

Less than three minutes later, the ball nearly crossed the baseline next to the Pittsburgh goal, and several Panthers thought the ball went out of bounds. But Blue Devil sophomore Chelsea Burns played on and passed to Stevens, who was cutting through the box and found the back of the net with the inside of her foot.

The last time Duke (12-3-2, 7-1-1 in the ACC) scored multiple goals in the first 10 minutes of a game was its season opener, a 9-1 win against Wofford.

Stevens now leads the team with eight goals, despite beginning the season coming off the bench behind starter Kayla McCoy. McCoy went down Sept. 17 against Boston College with a season-ending Achilles injury on a play in which she scored her second goal of the game. In the eight games since, Stevens has scored five goals, and the team is 6-1-1.

“She’s a really, really technical player, really good on the ball,” Church said. “She has the potential to be a really big-time player.”

During the next 80 minutes, the Blue Devils continued to apply pressure, outshooting the Panthers 12-0 through the first half and notching 15 shots on goal to Pittsburgh’s one in the game.

Junior goalkeeper EJ Proctor finished with one save, but the Panthers (2-14-1, 1-8-0) never came particularly close to finding the back of the net. Duke dominated possession throughout and opted numerous times to set up plays more slowly, sometimes passing back to the defense rather than turning on the jets for quick counterattacks.

“We had a lot of patience,” Church said. “We wanted to be playing with the ball. We wanted technically to be clean.”

The game marked the Blue Devils’ sixth straight without sophomore Taylor Racioppi, who is dealing with a lower-leg injury. The team’s leader in points from last year was expected to miss this season, but opted to skip the U-20 World Cup in Papua New Guinea this November to play with the Blue Devils and focus on academics.

With his deepest team ever, Church has managed without Racioppi, with Burns starting five of the team’s past six games either at midfield or defense. Burns’ strong showings have allowed Gibbons to play more in the midfield line, where she has racked up five assists in her last six games.

“She’s still a little ways away,” Church said of Racioppi. “I don’t know when we’ll get her back for sure.”

The Blue Devils will go for their third-ever ACC regular season title Thursday night at home against No. 17 Clemson. A win would give Duke the top seed in the ACC tournament, which the Blue Devils have never won.

“We’ve got to get some energy, and we’re looking forward to trying to play for a championship,” Church said.

Discussion

Share and discuss “Fast start carries Duke women's soccer to bounce-back win at Pittsburgh” on social media.