After a season in which the Blue Devils’ newest additions played an integral part in the team’s success, it was only fitting that a freshman led Duke to victory with a berth to the ACC tournament on the line.
Freshman midfielder Nicole Lipp scored twice as the Blue Devils (8-7-4, 4-4-2 in the ACC) defeated N.C. State 2-0 Sunday in the final match of the regular season.
“As a team we decided that we wanted the season to go on and everyone was just fighting so we could do that,” Lipp said. “The mentality was great. [In the second half] we came out there and knew what we had to get done.”
But Duke’s postseason prospects were still very much in the balance after 45 minutes. In the first half, head coach Robbie Church said the Blue Devils seemed to be a half step behind the pace of play, failing to create many scoring opportunities. The Wolfpack (8-9-2, 2-7-1) took advantage of Duke’s sluggish start and fired six shots in the opening stanza compared to only two for the Blue Devils.
At halftime—deadlocked in a scoreless tie—Duke made a conscious decision to elevate its level of play, and the Blue Devils translated their desire to extend the season into increased hustle and aggression.
“They knew what was at stake, and we became ball winners in the second half,” Church said. “We started to dominate and pinned them in really from the beginning of the second half all the way through.”
Church said Duke also changed the way it advanced the ball into Wolfpack territory. Instead of attacking through the center of the field, the Blue Devils began moving up the wings, and this tactical adjustment paid off in the 58th minute when Lipp tallied her first goal of the season.
After sophomore midfielder Cody Newman played a cross into the box from the left side of the field, the ball deflected off the hands of N.C. State goalkeeper Kim Kern and was knocked around before it rolled in front of Lipp, positioned about 12 yards away from goal. She proceeded to rocket a one-timer toward the back post and found the back of the net.
Duke had a chance to build on its slender one-goal advantage in the 73rd minute when a Wolfpack defender tackled Newman in the box. Senior Elisabeth Redmond took the ensuing penalty kick, but her shot was off target and flew wide right of the net.
Even though Redmond and top scorer KayAnne Gummersall could not add to the lead, Lipp was there to pick up the slack. She said she made a mental note to get forward and into the box against N.C. State after playing more of a defensive midfield role in Duke’s previous contests.
Her efforts paid off again in the 82nd minute when she stole the ball from a Wolfpack defender and slipped a shot past two more opponents into the lower-left corner of the net.
The win catapulted the Blue Devils into a tie for sixth place in the ACC standings, but Duke will be the eighth seed in the postseason tournament since it lost matches against Maryland and Virginia.
Although the Blue Devils ended up with the last slot in the conference tournament, Church was impressed with the way his team overcame adversity this season.
“What a great, great accomplishment that is in this conference,” Church said. “For us to finish sixth—all the things that we’ve gone through, all the players that we’ve lost during the course of the year and the way we started out. It’s a tribute to the character of the ladies on this team and the heart of this team.”
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