Following a disputed foul call, Seminole defender Kristin Grubka flicked in a header in the 87th minute to down the shorthanded Duke squad 2-1 Sunday at Koskinen Stadium.
“We were reset, and the girl just got up above [redshirt junior Kim DeCesare], who’s one of our strongest headers,” senior defender Natasha Anasi said. “Credit [Grubka] for getting the flick on and putting it into a good spot. I can’t ask Kimmy to do anything more than win that there, and if it falls like that, maybe it just wasn’t our day today.”
Tied 1-1 heading into the final 10 minutes of the match, the No. 12 Blue Devils (4-3-1, 1-1-0 in the ACC) turned up the heat on the offensive end to try for just their second win in the last nine games against the No. 7 Seminoles (6-0-2, 1-0-1). Duke had managed just two shots since halftime—but in a two-minute span, it would double that total.
First freshman midfielder Toni Payne created space on a counterattack in the 83rd minute, streaking down the right side of the field into the box but missing her near-post mark high and wide.
Payne created another opportunity—this one for DeCesare—just 90 seconds later. She found the redshirt senior with a through ball out to the right side of the box. DeCesare fired, but goalkeeper Kelsey Wys got two hands on it, sending a rebound back out of the 18-yard box.
Although Duke continued its elevated attack, a foul in the midfield by freshman Kara Wilson changed the pace of play.
“I was very frustrated because it looked like a great challenge from Kara Wilson, who did a great job of stepping in for Malinda Allen [who sat out due to illness]—probably one of the best players in the conference,” head coach Robbie Church said. “We have to look at the tape, but it didn’t look like it was a foul.”
Junior defender Megan Campbell lined up to take the kick for Florida State, spotting the ball several yards in front of the midline and lofted it into the 5-foot-10 Grubka in the center of the 18-yard box. The Seminole junior got her head on it, redirecting it to the left side of the net out of Blue Devil goalkeeper Ali Kershner’s reach.
Although Duke lost, the Blue Devils had several chances to take control of the game in the first half. Coming off a 3-0 win against Miami Thursday night in which Duke recorded a season-high three goals, the Blue Devil offense opened Sunday’s contest with crisp passing and a number of opportunities.
Neither team could get a shot in the first 10 minutes of play, but Blue Devil senior Laura Weinberg quickly got the Blue Devil offense going, firing a shot that was blocked in the 14th minute. Five minutes later, the forward again had her shot blocked but collected the rebound, dribbled to the end line and found DeCesare at the 6-yard box for a one-touch goal. The score marked just the third the Seminoles had given up in eight games.
Although DeCesare’s tally was Duke’s quickest score of the year, the resulting 1-0 lead did not last long. Less than a minute later, Seminole redshirt freshman Berglind Thorvaldsdottir scored with a 20-yard rocket into the upper left corner.
“We were a little far off our players,” DeCesare said. “We allowed her to get a half-turn, and you’ve got to give her credit. She did hit a very good shot.”
The Blue Devils had a few chances to reclaim the lead.
In the 23rd minute, junior forward Kelly Cobb started an attack with a spin move and pass to DeCesare that freed her up to receive the ball back at midfield behind the defense. Cobb drew the goalie out off her line and then fired a cross to Weinberg, but the senior forward struggled with the first touch and could not get off a shot. She passed the ball back to Cobb, who volleyed wide.
“We’re just going to have to be a little more focused in the final third,” said Anasi, who launched several attacks herself and registered one shot. “We’re doing everything else right up to that point, and it’s just once we get a cross off, it’s the finishing that has to come…. We’re close. We’re very, very close.”
Those chances proved more difficult to find in the second period, in which Florida State outshot the Blue Devils 13-4. Although only four of the Seminoles’ second half shots were on goal—and three of them went straight at Kershner—Duke’s inability to finish in the final third proved costly.
“It’s just little things here and there where maybe we could be a little tighter—just little glimpses that in the ACC, you’ll be punished for," Anasi said. "But overall, I think we’re playing really well. We’re working really hard, and hopefully, we can get a little bit of luck on our side here soon."
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