Duke men's soccer falls late once again, this time to No. 2 Wake Forest
By Ramona Naseri | October 24, 2020With the score knotted at 1-1 in the 85th minute, it looked inevitable that Duke was heading into a second straight overtime matchup.
With the score knotted at 1-1 in the 85th minute, it looked inevitable that Duke was heading into a second straight overtime matchup.
Friday's game was an instant classic, a match that not only continues to establish the ACC as the premier conference in women’s soccer, but perches Duke adjacent to its apex.
“I’m excited about [the upcoming schedule],” Church said. “Our players are excited about it. I think it gives them an opportunity to really put our stamp on the college soccer world.”
The Blue Devils are on the road again, and bringing their winning streak with them.
Duke proved it could compete with one of the best teams in the ACC, but when all was said and done just couldn’t quite do enough to pull out the victory.
Duke’s match Thursday ended in a familiar setting: overtime.
Clemson boasts one of the top offenses in the ACC.
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Thursday's contest will be the team's first game away from Durham since its season-opener Sept. 10, and its first game outside of North Carolina all season.
The stakes were high for both teams going into the game.
Duke's talent level was clear from the start.
It is essential that the Blue Devils continue to build off the momentum of their previous win.
In their previous encounter, the Blue Devils and Wolfpack went head-to-head for 109 minutes.
For the first time in over 278 minutes, dating back to Sept. 17 against Virginia, the Blue Devils found the back of the net.
Despite this being their first official game of the season, the Tar Heels came out of the gate with speed and precision that the Blue Devils couldn’t match until well into the contest.
“We talk about [North] Carolina being a bully in the neighborhood," Church said. "This is the bully’s cousin in Clemson."
Duke ended a 20-year road losing streak to the Tar Heels last season.
“You could see the change. I don’t know if something kind of kicked in during the week, but you could see something really kicked in," Church said.
Through a grueling 90 minutes of regulation and 19 minutes of overtime, Duke’s home-opener remained scoreless.
In the rivalry like no other, women’s soccer will be the first fall 2020 team to represent Duke blue.