Failing to find the offensive firepower that had propelled them to a 6-1 start, the No. 2 Blue Devils fell in their conference opener to the top-ranked team in the nation Thursday night.
No. 1 Florida State (7-0, 1-0 in the ACC) recorded its fifth shutout in seven games as it defeated Duke (6-2, 0-1) 1-0 at the Seminole Soccer Complex in Tallahassee, Fla. before a capacity crowd of 2,300—the second-largest in Florida State women’s soccer history.
“It was a great college soccer game, a great showcase for women’s soccer,” head coach Robbie Church said. “Two very good teams—unfortunately, we came out on the losing end.”
The Blue Devils entered the match scoring 4.14 goals per game, the most in the nation entering the week. They could not find the answer against the Seminole defense, however.
Despite racking up nine shots in the first period, Duke struggled to execute a final ball to challenge Florida State goalkeeper Kelsey Wys.
“We’re an older, veteran team, and I thought we could have handled the opening half better,” Church said.
For the Blue Devils, forward Kim DeCesare and midfielder Nicole Lipp started the game on the bench due to injuries sustained last week.
Furthermore, after returning from the U-20 FIFA women’s World Cup in Japan earlier this week, midfielder Mollie Pathman rejoined her teammates on the pitch just half an hour prior to kickoff.
“It’s not an ideal situation of course, but that’s part of it,” Church said. “Mollie had to go to class. She’s missed a lot of class, and I thought she played very well.”
Although Pathman and DeCesare both entered the game around the 20-minute mark, they were unable to provide Duke with the instant offense to break the scoreless draw.
And following a Blue Devil turnover, the Seminoles seized the first goal of the game and jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 23rd minute as Jamia Fields ran onto a short Duke clearance and volleyed it into the top-left netting past goalkeeper Tara Campbell.
“We didn’t get out well, and the girl finished it—did a great job of finishing it,” Church said. “She took it really well. There was nothing Tara could do with it at that point.”
The Blue Devils could not find an answer to Fields’ goal before the end of the half and entered the break with a deficit for the first time this season.
Looking for a comeback, Duke appeared to be the better team in the second period, Church said.
In spite of the greater level of play and higher percentage of possession, the team still did not manage to put together a scoring sequence.
Totalling 19 shots—just below its season average of 20.4 per game—Duke put just five on frame, a number that fell nearly 4.5 short of the squad’s season average.
“We didn’t do a job of being sharp around the 18-[yard box]—[getting] the final balls,” Church said. “[We] were getting a little impatient.”
In the final three minutes, DeCesare and forward Laura Weinberg—who had a game-high five shots—both put balls on target.
Wys, however, rose to the challenge of the final wave of Blue Devil attacks, recording her third and fourth saves to preserve the victory, marking the sixth consecutive time that a Duke loss has been decided by just one goal.
“It’s early in the ACC season, but we’ve got to be able put [good] halves back to back to get out of this league,” Church said. “If you have any where you’re not playing the top of your game, people are going to punish you for it.”
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.