With fatigue setting in as Sunday's game against Florida State reached the 105th minute mark, Seminole Mami Yamaguchi fought off a leg cramp and netted a shot to the back post to lift Florida State to a 2-1 victory over Duke.
The game-winning goal came during the second overtime at the Seminole Soccer Complex in Tallahassee, Fla., as the Blue Devils lost for the second consecutive contest.
"It was two very, very high level teams playing," Duke head coach Robbie Church said. "This was really, a really good game from the opening minute all the way through the 104th minute."
The first half was a defensive battle, as the suffocating Blue Devil defense allowed No. 9 FSU a season-low one shot. Likewise, the Seminoles held Duke (11-4-1, 5-4 in the ACC) to three shots going into a scoreless halftime.
The game was not scoreless for long, however. Florida State (14-2, 7-2) quickly took the lead 10 seconds into the second half with a hard, 25-yard shot to the low, left corner.
The sixth-ranked Blue Devils countered a few minutes later to knot the score at one with their own long-range shot from junior midfielder Darby Kroyer.
"We came right back, and Darby Kroyer scored a great, great goal for us about 20 to 25 yards out," Church said. "She just hit a bomb, and it just found the upper part of the net."
The Duke offense never backed down, almost taking the lead in the final minutes of the game. A potential game-winning shot from Kate Seibert hit the crossbar in the 88th minute of regulation.
Duke outshot the Seminoles 8-7 in regulation, but in the overtime periods Florida State held a 4-1 shot advantage.
"It was definitely an evenly-matched game," Church said. "The match was a back and forth game. They were two top-10 teams playing. They just happened to score the goal late."
The Blue Devil defense allowed the Seminoles two goals, which is the most it have given up in a match all season. In 16 games, Duke has only allowed a total of eight goals, while netting 23 of its own.
Sunday's 2-1 victory gives FSU its sixth straight win in conference play. Duke, on the other hand, was coming off a tough 1-0 loss to Clemson Oct. 20. Sunday's loss to the Seminoles leaves Duke in fifth place in the ACC going into the final game of the regular season against Miami Friday Oct. 28.
"We've proven to ourselves that we can play with anyone in the country," Church said. "I think, if anything, these two tough losses are going to make us more determined as we finish up our season with Miami and get ready to go to the ACC tournament."
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