It wasn't pretty, but the women's soccer team got the job done against N.C. State Tuesday night. After losing to the Wolfpack (6-6, 1-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) the last three years, No. 9 Duke (7-2, 3-0) scored the lone goal in the final minutes of the game, pulling out the 1-0 win.
"It was not that much of an attractive game," assistant coach Carla Overbeck said, "but we got the win."
The goal came with exactly three minutes left to play, when senior midfielder Kristy Whelchel passed the ball to sophomore forward Emily Feeney. Feeney's shot rebounded off an N.C. State player and junior midfielder Mariana Muiruri slid and knocked the ball into the goal just inside the left post.
"It was a relief when we finally got it in," Feeney said. "We'd been working really hard."
The scoreless game that resulted up to that point did not result from a lack of chances. Ten minutes into the first half, Wolfpack defender Shannon Blair blasted a shot from 25 yards out which hit the crossbar over the head of Duke goalie Dana Piper. N.C. State had a similar opportunity in the second half, when a long shot hit the crossbar over substitute Blue Devil goalkeeper Isis Dallis.
Duke had near misses of its own in the first half, when Whelchel headed two balls at the goal within minutes of each other-both of which were saved by Wolfpack goalie Katherine Mertz. On a breakaway also in the first half, sophomore forward Kim Cahill shot the ball just over the goal in a one-on-one with Mertz.
N.C. State plays on an unusually small field and uses long passes as a major part of its attack, which Duke had difficulty adjusting to.
"N.C. State is a big kickball team," Feeney said. "We were playing to them and letting them play their game."
After opening the season 5-1, this loss marks the fifth in the last six games for the slumping Wolfpack.
N.C. State showed their frustration physically, committing 10 fouls in the game to Duke's five.
"They are a tough and aggressive team," Overbeck said. "We knew it would be a battle."
The Blue Devils had hoped for a more decisive win, coming off of Friday's upset over No. 3 Virginia.
"We didn't play as well as we did in the past," Overbeck said. "We didn't really get into a rhythm. It's kind of difficult when you don't play as consistently as you'd like."
However, especially after a drought in victories over the ACC-rival Wolfpack, the win in itself was enough.
"We just wanted to go out and prove that they're not a better team," Feeney said. "It didn't matter what the score was-we walked off the field with a win."
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