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Stingy defense sends Duke women's soccer to 2-0 bounce-back win against Coastal Carolina

<p>Ashton Miller scored her first goal of the season to give Duke more breathing room in its 2-0 win Sunday evening.&nbsp;</p>

Ashton Miller scored her first goal of the season to give Duke more breathing room in its 2-0 win Sunday evening. 

In their first two games, the Blue Devils converted 37 shots into 12 goals and scored three goals in the first 15 minutes of both contests. 

Coming off a shocking 2-1 loss to Arkansas Friday, Duke struggled to find the back of net once again but relied on its defense to get back on track.

The No. 2 Blue Devils persevered to knock off Coastal Carolina 2-0 Sunday night at Koskinen Stadium in the team’s home opener and first shutout of the year. Senior Christina Gibbons assisted both goals, with junior Imani Dorsey scoring in the 22nd minute and classmate Ashton Miller in the 72nd to seal a match the Blue Devils dominated throughout, though they needed 39 shots and 12 corner kicks to get their two tallies.

“The thing I’m happy about is the zero on the board. We haven’t had one of those,” Duke head coach Robbie Church said. “We have to also be able to work for each other, and that’s been lacking a little bit. So I’m very happy to see it today.”

As was the case Friday, the Blue Devils (3-1) struggled to score despite controlling the ball for much of the game. 

Dorsey broke the 0-0 deadlock with a volley off the side of her leg. Senior defender Lizzy Raben sent a through ball down the left side of the field and sophomore Taylor Racioppi passed to Gibbons in the corner before the 2015 first-team All-ACC performer crossed the ball to a crashing Dorsey.

Dorsey’s third goal of the year highlighted the creativity on the outside Church wants to see from his team, as well as a new formation coming off Friday’s loss.

On Sunday, Gibbons transitioned between defense and offense as part of a 3-4-1-2 formation to create more chances for her team. She was able to do that because the Blue Devil defense shut down Coastal Carolina (2-1-1), allowing just five shots during the game. 

The Chanticleers’ only serious scoring threat came on a shot from 35 yards out that hit the crossbar, allowing Duke to work more on its offense as it tries to find the right balance with 18 players capable of logging key minutes.

“Today was the first chance I got to [play midfield],” Gibbons said. “It’s a lot of fun for me, I like to get in the attack, so I had the chance to do that tonight, get a couple assists.”

In the second half, senior Rebecca Quinn—in her first game of the season after playing with Canada in the Olympics and missing the preseason—found Gibbons on the left side of the box without anyone around her. Gibbons stopped and sent a pass just off the ground to Miller, who met it on the run and beat Coastal Carolina goalkeeper Becca Austin with a one-timer into the bottom left corner of the net. 

Miller was one of 13 different players who took shots against the Chanticleers, including Raben with two header attempts and Quinn with two on goal, one of which was a shot from close range that Austin stopped.

“Sure, we miss her. Sure, she misses playing with our kids, but could you tell?” Church said of the bronze medalist. “A couple times, she took a couple too many touches maybe, but besides that, she played great.”

Despite the low-stress win, the number of shots Duke took without scoring caught the eye of its coaches, who now have even more reason to preach the importance of defense. The Blue Devils made their run to the national title game last year led by goalkeeper E.J. Proctor and one of the stingiest units in the nation, but had multiple lapses Friday against the Razorbacks. 

Duke is back in action at home Friday night at 7:30 p.m. against North Carolina in the two teams’ only matchup of the regular season, then will take on Minnesota Sunday at 2 p.m. in the second game of the Duke Nike Classic.

“We’ll score goals, we’ll score goals,” Church said. “We’ve been finishing them in training, we’ll finish them in games, just sometimes in this game you can’t count on them everyday. That’s why you have to defend first.”

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