Unlike its thrilling last-minute victory over Boston College Thursday night, Duke didn't need a flying header to beat N.C. State Sunday.
Riding high off their hard-fought victory over the Eagles, the Blue Devils earned their third ACC win when they downed the Wolfpack, 3-0, in Koskinen Stadium.
Duke (7-4-1, 3-1 in the ACC) jumped out to an early advantage and never allowed N.C. State (6-3-2, 1-2) in the game. The Blue Devils dominated possession, earning seven corner kicks to the Wolfpack's one and recording six shots on goal.
"We started off great because N.C. State has had some good wins this year," head coach Robbie Church said. "We just took them right completely out of the game at the beginning. We did some very good things. Overall, I thought it was an absolutely great effort."
The Blue Devils took an early lead when freshman Elisabeth Redmond connected on a lefty strike just 12 minutes into the match. After Duke pressured the Wolfpack goal for several minutes, freshman Sarah Murphy hit a long ball from near midfield and Redmond ran up to it just inside the penalty area before blasting it into the top-right corner.
"It was a great shot," head coach Robbie Church said. "She turned, came in and just caught the thing. It was like a laser.... It was an key early goal and we started playing with a lot more confidence after it."
Thirty minutes into the first half, sophomore Lorraine Quinn chipped a cross from the left wing toward the penalty spot. Battling a Blue Devil, N.C. State defender Jessica O'Rourke leapt to head the ball away, but she put it past her own keeper, Megan Connors. The mishap put Duke ahead 2-0.
Confident in their lead, the Blue Devils utilized several substitutes late in the first half.
Duke continued to attack the N.C. State goal in the second half and capped off its scoring 25 minutes into the period.
Senior Lauren Tippets beat a defender around the right wing and centered for freshman KayAnne Gummersall. The forward tapped the ball past Connors, marking the second goal scored by a Blue Devil freshman in the match.
"They have just been unbelievable," senior captain Darby Kroyer said of the team's freshmen. "We really needed them, having lost such key players this year, and they have filled those roles and gone far beyond."
The day's lone attack for the visitors came in the 23rd minute of the second half when midfielder Tami Krzeszewski got behind Duke's Rachel-Rose Cohen and shot wide of the post. But the Blue Devils came right back on the offensive, and Gummersall scored two minutes later to seal the victory.
Church said he was satisfied with Duke's improvement since its 1-0 loss to Virginia on the road Sept 24.
"It has been great," Church said. "I cannot ask for anything else. We have two wins, two shutouts, created a number of opportunities and scored on those opportunities."
Duke, which is currently ranked just outside the top 25, recorded 19 shots on the day and held the Wolfpack to just four.
With four conference games under their belt-three of them wins-the Blue Devils have a solid start on their conference schedule. Duke will now begin preparing for No. 2 North Carolina, which will travel down Tobacco Road to take on the Blue Devils Sunday at 2:00 p.m in Koskinen.
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