Behind a pair of underclassmen goals, the Blue Devils snapped their three-game scoreless slump and began their four game homestand with a victory Sunday.
Duke walked away with a 2-1 victory against Wake Forest at Koskinen Stadium Sunday afternoon thanks to an early goal from sophomore forward Toni Payne and a late, go-ahead header from freshman Ashton Miller.
“It’s been a tough stretch, no question about it,” head coach Robbie Church said. “But one of the main things is these kids have not quit. They haven’t quit in training, in games. They’re working hard.”
Duke (7-6-1, 3-2-1 in the ACC) entered the game having gone 366 minutes through four games without finding the back of the net. But just six minutes into Sunday's contest, Payne ended the painful streak. Moments after Demon Deacon Sarah Teegarden ripped a shot on goal just inches over the crossbar, Blue Devil midfielder Sarah Trees lofted a ball into the box over to defenders and set up Payne nicely for her team-leading fifth goal of the year.
Aside from giving Duke a 1-0 lead, the goal finally allowed the Blue Devils to exhale after being shut out in three-straight games.
The Duke offense looked sharp early on, peppering on-goal shots off long passes into the box and crosses from quick transitions. Payne—who finished with six shots, three of which were on goal—pushed the tempo early, sending in a handful of passes into the box that came up just short of scoring.
"We made some changes today," Church said. "We changed the shape we played in and we started some new personnel.”
The theme of the day for Wake Forest was corner kicks. The Demon Deacons attempted nine on the day, compared to the Blue Devils’ three. They finally broke through in the 37th minute, as Wake Forest’s Kendall Fischlein—who attempted all nine of their corners on the afternoon—found midfielder Claudia Day in the box. Day would finish with a header into the top right corner for the equalizer.
“They’re so dangerous and we talked about their corners," Church said. "[Wake Forest head coach Tony da Luz] does an unbelievable job on set plays, but this year they’ve just been huge."
With the game tied at one, the Duke offense came up clutch in the 73rd minute as defender Schuyler DeBree and Payne assisted Miller for the go-ahead goal. The freshman—who didn’t start the game because of Duke’s change to a 4-3-2 formation—headed it in from 10 yards out over the reach of Wake Forest goalkeeper Lindsay Preston for the 2-1 lead. The game-winner was also the first score of Miller’s Blue Devil career.
“It was pretty exciting,” Miller said. “I was coming back from a little down period with my playing and I was really fired up for this game. I just wanted to help the team out. We really needed this one so it was big… [Not starting] motivated me to play harder than I did before and win my spot back.”
Although much attention has been given to the lack of offensive production, the Blue Devil defense has been solid as of late. Including today’s match, Duke has only allowed four goals throughout the last seven matches. Goalkeeper Ali Kershner had two saves on the afternoon.
The Blue Devils had a scare in the 49th minute following a collision between Day and Duke midfielder Gilda Doria on an in-air challenge. Day arrived late and managed to walk it off but Doria was visibly shaken up. She was replaced by Dorsey initially, but would return to the game 14 minutes later and showed no signs of serious injury.
After the game, Church revealed that the Blue Devils would be without starting midfielder Rebecca Quinn for two games but said it would be an opportunity for others to step up.
Duke plays rival No. 7 North Carolina Sunday Oct. 19 at Koskinen Stadium at 3:30 p.m.
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