RALEIGH, N.C. — Duke came inches away from giving up its first goal to N.C. State in seven years, but with an ACC regular-season title on the line, the Blue Devils regrouped to defeat the Wolfpack.
Led by midfielder Kim DeCesare’s game-saving clearance and midfielder Kaitlyn Kerr’s go-ahead goal, Duke clinched its second-ever conference title with a 1-0 win at N.C. State Thursday night.
The No. 4 Blue Devils (16-2-1, 8-1-1 in the ACC) opened their final regular season game cautiously, mustering just one shot on goal in the first half. Lacking their usual full-field aggressive pressure, Duke allowed the Wolfpack (10-7-2, 1-7-2) to open up several offensive opportunities.
N.C. State, which had notched just two goals in its last four games, nearly put Duke behind in the 34th minute with a quick counterattack.
The Wolfpack played forward Stephanie Bronson down the middle of the field with a clear path to goal. As two Duke defenders trailed, Bronson drove toward the goal as Blue Devil goalkeeper Tara Campbell charged out of the 18-yard box. Sliding in, Campbell blocked the ball straight into Bronson, and it rolled back to the goal with no player in sight to stop it.
“All I was thinking was run,” DeCesare said. “Run as fast as you can, and do not let the ball go in the back of the net.”
Sprinting from outside of the 18-yard box, DeCesare managed to get her foot on the ball just in time to prevent the goal. DeCesare, who said the ball was touching the line when she arrived, cleared it to the sideline as she slid into the netting at full speed.
“If there was Charlie Hustle on the soccer field, it’s Kim DeCesare,” head coach Robbie Church said. “So, when I looked back and saw somebody chasing it, I was glad it was Kimmy, because if there was any way to get to the ball, she was going to make that happen.”
DeCesare got up slowly, shaken by the force of her impact with the back of the net, but her effort set the tone for the rest of the game.
“I kind of walked by the [bench], and I kind of gave them a glare,” Church said. “I really think that was a huge turning point in the game because if they had scored that goal there was going to be a lot of numbers behind the ball, and it would have been tough to break in there.”
With the shutout saved, Duke came out with a more aggressive style in the second half, tallying ten shots and placing six of those on goal.
The Blue Devils had failed to score for the fifth straight opening period against a compact N.C. State defense, but now Duke began to take advantage of sloppy passes in the Wolfpack backfield and spread the field offensively.
“It took us a half to figure out how to break that bunker [of N.C. State’s back line]” forward Mollie Pathman said. “We really encouraged our wide forwards to go at them [one-on-one] which opened a lot more space up for our midfielders.”
Duke finally connected on one of its many attacks in the 65th minute as Pathman crossed the ball from the left side to just within the 6-yard box, where Kerr placed a header in the goal, her fourth game-winner and sixth overall this season.
Following Kerr’s go-ahead score, the Blue Devils continued to play threatening passes in their opponents’ final third, not letting up their intensity.
“This team has an ability—and it’s a great ability—to play better in the second half,” Church said.
In the final minutes, the Wolfpack desperately sought to find an equalizer, even bringing up goalkeeper Kim Kern for a 90th-minute corner kick. Nevertheless, Duke held strong to preserve its program season record-tying 13th shutout of the season. Winning their first ACC regular season title since 1994, the Blue Devils become the first team other than North Carolina to record multiple regular season titles.
“We’re not done yet, but it’s our biggest accomplishment,” Kerr said. “This is what we’ve been aiming for all season.”
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