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Ashton Miller scores game-winner as Duke women's soccer survives overtime scare

Taylor Racioppi scored her first goal in more than a month to send Friday's game to overtime.
Taylor Racioppi scored her first goal in more than a month to send Friday's game to overtime.

For the first time in Duke's month-long winning streak, 90 minutes were not enough to put the Blue Devils in the win column, but they delivered with just a few minutes to spare in overtime to keep the streak going.

Ashton Miller's goal in the 103rd minute lifted No. 4 Duke to a 3-2 win at Louisville at Dr. Mark & Cindy Lynn Stadium Friday night for its 11th straight win. The loose ball fell to the senior's feet after a deflection in the box, and Miller powered it past goalkeeper Gabrielle Kouzelos for her third goal of the season.

The Blue Devils gave up multiple goals for the first time all season and were playing without leading scorer Imani Dorsey, but three different Duke players scored to pick up the slack.

The Blue Devils entered Friday's contest with three straight shutouts, but surrendered their first goal in 18 days when Emina Ekic converted a penalty kick for the Cardinals in the 36th minute. The goal evened the score heading into halftime after Duke sophomore Ella Stevens opened the scoring with a shot that deflected off a defender midway through the first half.

Louisville put the Blue Devils on their heels in the first two minutes of the second half, taking a 2-1 lead on a header by Inger Katrine Bjerke off a cross into the box. But Duke equalized in the 76th minute when junior Kayla McCoy sent a cross into the box to classmate Taylor Racioppi, who scored her second goal of the year and her first since a season-opening loss to North Carolina.

The Cardinals hit the crossbar on a potential game-winner in the closing minutes of regulation, and they could never get a shot off in overtime.

The match was relatively even throughout, with the Blue Devils outshooting Louisville just 10-8 and forcing Kouzelos to make four saves. Senior goalkeeper EJ Proctor played all 102:11 for Duke and made two stops.

Duke will regroup after the close call and return home next weekend to face N.C. State Thursday and No. 21 Florida State next Sunday.

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