Usually a trip to Clemson yields nothing but frustration for the Blue Devils, who had not won at Riggs Field since 1997. But with the help of another solid defensive performance Sunday, Duke notched its second straight conference victory with a 2-0 win over the Tigers (3-12-0, 0-7-0 in the ACC).
“Clemson has historically had a good program, and it’s just always a tough place to play in,” head coach Robbie Church said. “It doesn’t matter what the other team’s record is, when you go on the road in the ACC, you’ve got to be ready for a fight.”
A tired Blue Devil squad looked destined for another disappointing result at Clemson after the first half, in which the Tigers outshot Duke 6-5.
“We were fortunate that the score was nothing-nothing at half. They had a few good opportunities to score goals and we weren’t able to do much,” Church said.
The Blue Devils (6-5-4, 2-2-2 in the ACC), currently in the bottom half of the ACC standings, need to accumulate wins quickly if they want to play in the NCAA tournament—something Church reminded them of at halftime.
“The coaches just challenged our players, we asked them how far they wanted to go this season,” Church said.
Duke immediately responded in the second half. Just two minutes in, junior Kendall Bradley sent her first goal of the season past Clemson goalkeeper Paula Pritzen after beating two Tiger defenders. The goal was assisted by senior captain Elisabeth Redmond, giving her 10 assists on the year, the most in the ACC.
“The girls made a collective commitment to pick the pace up in the second half, and it really gave us some opportunities,” Church said.
In the 70th minute, the Blue Devils ensured the win after junior Marybeth Kreger slotted a cross to the head of senior KayAnne Gummersall, who beat the Clemson goalkeeper from seven yards out. It was Gummersall’s team-leading eighth goal of the season.
In addition to creating offensive opportunities, the Blue Devils defensively clamped down on Clemson star Maddy Elder, who has 10 goals on the season. Duke allowed Elder only two shots and harnessed the Tiger attack in the second half to keep the shutout.
“Our defense did a great job of knowing where [Elder] was at all times, and it really limited her opportunities,” Church said.
The shutout was Duke’s eighth of the season, and third straight against conference opponents.
The Blue Devils’ second-half performance may prove a turning point for the season, propelling the young team into the NCAA tournament. After consecutive victories, Duke now will play two straight games at home, and will need to take points from both contests to make a strong argument for inclusion in the postseason.
“We gave away a couple tough games earlier in the year, and we’ve got to win games now in order to get in,” Church said.
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