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Duke women's soccer prepares to begin season-ending road swing vs. Boston College

<p>EJ Proctor has shut out two-thirds of the opponents she has faced this year and posted the easiest clean sheet of her career Sunday when Miami did not take a shot.</p>

EJ Proctor has shut out two-thirds of the opponents she has faced this year and posted the easiest clean sheet of her career Sunday when Miami did not take a shot.

Duke is coming off another dominant win to add to its streak and has blown out several teams its next opponent has lost to. With postseason play only three games away, the biggest challenge for the fourth-ranked Blue Devils may be how to avoid overlooking Boston College.

After denying Miami a shot on goal in a 3-0 victory on Senior Day at Koskinen Stadium last Sunday, Duke will seek to extend its school-record 14-game win streak Thursday against Boston College at the Newton Campus Sports Complex in Chestnut Hill, Mass., with kickoff set for 7 p.m. If the Blue Devils can replicate the defensive clinic they put on Sunday, goalkeeper EJ Proctor would move into a tie for the third-most shutouts in school history with 30.

“That’s probably the one we were most proud of just because they didn’t get any shots,” Proctor said of the Blue Devils’ dominant defense Sunday. “We have that taste of, okay, it’s possible if the backs work really hard.... That’s what we always aim for, but it definitely helps that it worked out last game.”

Duke’s rigid defense has recorded a shutout in two-thirds of its games this season and has been the backbone of its streak. The run of success includes commanding victories against Florida State and N.C. State, two teams that Boston College has lost to in the last month. Despite this, the Blue Devils (14-1-0, 7-0-0 in the ACC) will not be expecting a cakewalk in Newton.

“Going on the road in the ACC is hard as hell,” Duke head coach Robbie Church said.

In addition to the hostile crowd, the playing surface will be similarly unfamiliar for the Blue Devils.

“It’s different going from playing on grass fields all year long and then going to a turf field,” Church said. “We got a training in today as you see [on turf], we’ll get another training in tomorrow on their turf field, but now that’s only two trainings.”

Duke’s recent trips to Newton have not ended in its favor. In 2015, the two teams played to a 1-1 draw. The Blue Devils’ 2013 visit ended in a 4-1 defeat. 2011 was the last year Duke recorded a road victory against the Eagles. 

“We recruit the same type of kids, academically, athletically,” Church said. “Our kids know their kids, their kids know ours. It’s always a tough game.”

One area for concern in Duke’s win Sunday was its slow start, with all three goals coming in the second half. The Blue Devils’ offense slightly favors the second period, scoring five more goals and taking 15 more shots than in the first half so far this season.

“Senior Day is always on the forefront of everyone’s mind,” said Imani Dorsey, Duke’s leading goal scorer, when asked about the slow start to the Miami game. “In comparison to the Florida State game, we had a game plan of going out and high pressing. I think that makes it a lot easier to have a higher tempo in the beginning of the game.”

Duke plays at a faster tempo than Boston College (9-6-1, 3-3-1), averaging 0.8 more goals per game. Striking the Eagles early would put immense pressure on their offense to make up a deficit against a Duke defense that has allowed multiple goals only twice this season.

“We’ll be ready to play,” Church said. “This team’s been focused all year long. They have a goal of winning trophies. That’s winning the regular season, winning the ACC tournament and winning the NCAA tournament. We’re getting closer and closer to that, and this is another piece.”  

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