Sunny skies and warm weather could not make up for a depressing defeat in the Blue Devils' trip to Tallahassee, Fla. Sunday.
No. 8 Duke fell to No. 9 Florida State 5-2, continuing the Blue Devils' almost decade-long difficulty in Tallahassee. The last time head coach Robbie Church's team won at Florida State came in 1999.
Despite the loss, Duke (11-3-1, 3-2-1 in the ACC) maintains its place as fifth in the league.
The Blue Devils faced an aggressive Seminole offense that posted 21 shots, nine more than Duke's total. In spite of senior Cassidy Powers' three saves in the first 83 minutes of action and freshman Emily Nahas' additional three in the final minutes of play, the Blue Devils allowed their highest goals-against total of the season. Previously, their worst margin came in 3-0 loss to No. 2 North Carolina Oct. 2.
"We're playing at a high level," Church said. "But when you go on a top-10 team's field, you've got to be ready."
The trouble for the Blue Devils came almost as soon as they hit the pitch as the Seminoles jumped to an early lead in the first half. Florida State's first goal came only eight minutes into the game. Less than 20 minutes later, the Seminoles (12-2-1, 6-1) earned their second goal while the Blue Devils remained scoreless.
The visitors regrouped at halftime, focusing on the charge to chip at the deficit one goal at a time.
"[We said], 'Let's get the first one here, and then make it two,'" Church said.
And that's just what the Blue Devils did as soon as the second half started.
Junior forward KayAnne Gummersall scored her first goal just more than one minute into the second half off an assist from junior midfielder Jane Alukonis.
But it seemed like everything was happening in five-minute increments-just over five minutes later, the Seminoles came back with a third goal.
"We had a great goal from KayAnne, but that third goal was just a heartbreaker," Church said.
Minutes later, Florida State was back on the offensive, earning its fourth goal and effectively dashing Duke's hopes of a win.
But the Blue Devils were still hungry, as Gummersall notched her second goal of the game and ninth of the season with 20 minutes left, this time off an assist from senior midfielder Lorraine Quinn.
The Blue Devils have a tough schedule ahead of them. With just four games left in the regular season, they only have one home game-against Clemson Oct. 26-before heading to Cary for the ACC tournament.
And although Church said the team has a lot to work on, he is not worried about the effects of one loss to a top-10 team.
"It's just one game. We're still a good team," he said. "We're not going to be satisfied with what we've done this far. We'll be fine."
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