Less than sixteen minutes into the first half of Duke's contest against Clemson, the Tigers' Sara Gulley sent a diagonal pass from left to right across the Blue Devil defense. The pass found midfielder Courtney Foster, who slipped between Duke's center and left backs, and moved in on a breakaway.
Duke goalkeeper Allison Lipsher rushed forward as Foster released a shot that hit the top left corner of the net, and Clemson took a 1-0 advantage.
It was the only goal the Tigers would need, as they went on to beat the No. 6 Blue Devils (11-3-1, 5-3 in the ACC) Thursday by that same margin.
The score capped the first segment of the game, dominated by Clemson.
Within the first 10 minutes of the game, the Tigers (8-6-2, 3-4-1) fired two shots off a pair of corner kicks, putting pressure on Duke's defense.
"Clemson was more hungry and ready at the start," head coach Robbie Church said. "We were not prepared as well, which is my job.... Defensively, we didn't come out with the same focus and intensity."
At the 12:40 mark, Carolyn Ford was injured in a collision with fellow defender Heidi Hollenbeck in Duke's defensive end. She was unable to play for several minutes.
Three minutes later, with Ford waiting to re-enter the game, Foster scored Clemson's game-winning goal.
"Players get hurt and players have to change positions," Church said. "It is a tough league, and I am sure we would have liked to have her in there, but we didn't. People have to step up and do the job when certain players are not in there."
After Foster's goal, the Blue Devils took control of the game, ending the first half with a 5-4 shot and 4-3 corner kick advantage, but they were unable to convert any of the opportunities.
Unlike the first half, Duke started strong in the second period. In the 54th minute, Blue Devil midfielder Carmen Bognanno was taken down in the left corner of the goal box by Clemson defender Amber Funk, and was awarded a penalty kick. But Bognanno missed the shot wide left.
Over the next 10 minutes, Duke took four more shots, but none found the back of the net. Church removed a defender in the 72nd minute, leaving only three backs in the game, but the Blue Devils still could not convert.
"In the second half, we created much more opportunities, but didn't finish on the opportunities," Church said. "We had a number of one-on-one's with the keeper, took some bad shots, and made some bad choices. One time, the ball was flying across the box, but no one was there."
In the final 18 minutes of the game, three more Blue Devil shots would not go past Clemson goalkeeper Ashley Phillips, who finished with seven saves. The Blue Devils outshot Clemson, 10-1 in the second half.
The Blue Devils face Florida State in Tallahassee, Fla., Oct. 23.
"We need to make sure we have a 90-minute mentality, or you're going to get pounded in this league," Church said.
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