After giving up just three goals in conference play this season, Duke allowed two against the Demon Deacons in the ACC tournament semifinal match and could not recover.
The No. 1-seeded Blue Devils fell to Wake Forest Friday night, losing 2-1. The defending conference tournament champion Demon Deacons took a 2-0 lead early in the second half and just barely held on at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.
Neither team took control early in the game until, following a series of quick counterattacks, the fifth-seeded Demon Deacons pulled ahead on a corner-kick score in the 26th minute. Assisted by the kick from forward Rachel Nuzzolese and a redirection from midfielder Riley Ridgik, Wake Forest midfielder Kim Marshall placed a header just off of Duke goalkeeper Tara Campbell’s fingertips into the net.
“I felt we got outworked early in the first half and went away from some of the things we wanted to do,” Blue Devil head coach Robbie Church said. “Our shape was not very good. Our possession was not very good.”
Finding themselves down a goal, the Blue Devils went on the offensive. Just five minutes later, Duke nearly scored on a corner of its own as midfielder Kim DeCesare headed forward Mollie Pathman’s feed just past the keeper. As the ball appeared to enter the goal, however, a Demon Deacon defender cleared it, preventing what seemed like a certain score.
“I’m convinced that it was in,” DeCesare said. “It was close. I wish it went in. It was a little bit unlucky.”
In the 40th minute, the Blue Devils again appeared to have found an equalizer. On a free kick from just in front of the center line by midfielder Nicole Lipp, defender Natasha Anasi put the ball in the back of the net with a volley as she flew across the face of the goal. The score was disallowed, however, as Anasi was ruled offside.
Facing the adversity of two straight controversial calls, Duke entered halftime still down a goal.
A 51st minute strike by Nuzzolese gave the Blue Devils an even greater difference to make up—the team’s largest deficit of the season. Nuzzolese’s score gave her two goals and three assists in the tournament.
“Right now she’s just hitting her stride, and the confidence is building every game,” Wake Forest head coach Tony da Luz said. “This is a great time for her to come to life.”
Duke’s offensive struggles continued as the team failed to get off a shot for the first 15 minutes of the period, but it finally broke through from the flanks in the 66th minute. Midfielder Kaitlyn Kerr played a pass to defender Libby Jandl on the right wing. Jandl then lobbed a pass to the center of the 18-yard box, where DeCesare headed it back into the right side of the goal from 12 yards out.
Both squads found several scoring opportunities as the match drew to a close, en route to a total of 14 for each team. With 30 seconds remaining, it again seemed that Duke had leveled the score and would force overtime.
In a final offensive surge, Blue Devil forward Kelly Cobb beat the Wake Forest back line to a bouncing ball on the right side of the top of the 18-yard box. With Demon Deacon goalkeeper Aubrey Bledsoe charging, Cobb only had time for a single touch. Getting it off just in time, Cobb flicked the ball over the keeper. The ball then floated just inches wide of the open net.
In spite of Duke’s last-minute efforts, Wake Forest held on to send the favorites home early. The Blue Devils still have the NCAA tournament left on the schedule, though, with the bracket to be announced Monday.
“From now on, if we’re on the short end, our season’s… done,” head coach Robbie Church said. “Are we satisfied? Or are we still hungry to go forward and still accomplish some great things?”
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