Sportswrap: Football takes over in Miami, soccer teams near postseason play

Duke football left no doubt Saturday at Miami, defeating the Hurricanes 45-21.
Duke football left no doubt Saturday at Miami, defeating the Hurricanes 45-21.

Sportswrap is your one-stop shop for everything Duke athletics, where we’ll recap how each of Duke’s sports currently in competition performed over the last week and give a brief look ahead. Here’s our recap for the week of Oct. 17-Oct. 23.

Football

Duke pulled off the upset Saturday, dominating Miami 45-21. The Blue Devils’ six total touchdowns were accomplished on just 336 yards of total offense—quarterback Riley Leonard accounted for four of those touchdowns, one through the air and three on the ground. However, the winning effort was led by Duke’s defense. It forced eight turnovers—five fumbles and three interceptions—to set a program record for most in a game. Sophomore defensive back Brandon Johnson had himself a day with nine tackles, two sacks, a fumble recovery and an interception that he returned for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. The Blue Devils (5-3, 2-2 in the ACC) will have to maintain their momentum through their bye week before heading up to Boston College Nov. 4. -Rachael Kaplan

Women’s soccer

After walking away from Clemson Thursday with their first draw of the season, which ended 0-0, the Blue Devils returned to Koskinen Stadium for their Senior Day. Taking on Louisville, Duke (11-4-1, 6-2-1) defeated the visiting Cardinals in a 4-0 victory that was decided by a momentous second half in which sophomore Michelle Cooper and Kat Rader both finished off two-goal games. The first goal of the game came from Cooper with less than five minutes remaining in the first 45 minutes of play, ending her longest career stretch of scoreless games. Duke has just one more regular season contest, taking on Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., Thursday before it starts its postseason ventures. -Ana Young

Men’s soccer

One game—just one game—separates Duke from an undefeated regular season. After a midweek 4-0 drubbing of George Washington courtesy of a Shakur Mohammed brace, the Blue Devils (10-0-4, 4-0-3) then wrapped up their home slate with a nervy 0-0 draw against reigning ACC Coach of the Year Jay Vidovich and Pittsburgh. Graduate goalkeeper Eliot Hamill remains top of the NCAA in save percentage, and week after week, the question of when this remarkable streak will end is still yet to be answered. Next up is an away clash Friday with Virginia Tech before the ACC tournament kicks off. -Andrew Long

Men’s basketball

At Friday evening’s Countdown to Craziness, the Cameron Crazies got their first sip of Blue Devil basketball under the command of new head coach Jon Scheyer. The event featured player introductions for both the men’s and women’s teams and a short, 16-minute intrasquad scrimmage, which the Blue team won 41-26. Junior captain Jeremy Roach led the group with 13 points, followed closely by freshman center Christian Reeves with 12. We are still a few weeks out from the start of the season in earnest, but Blue Devil basketball is officially back in action. -Long

Volleyball

Duke split its Tobacco Road matchups this week, conquering N.C. State (25-23, 22-25, 25-17, 25-18) Wednesday evening but falling to North Carolina (23-25, 25-18, 20-25, 19-25) Sunday afternoon. The Blue Devils threw a block party against the Wolfpack, shutting down N.C. State’s offensive opportunities and dominating with their hitting efficiency. But Duke’s unforced errors gave the Tar Heels the edge Sunday, with the Blue Devils hitting only .170 and totaling 11 service errors. Duke will play on the road twice this week, where it will take on No. 2 Louisville Friday at 7 p.m. and Notre Dame Sunday at 1 p.m. -Leah Boyd

Swimming and diving

In its first meet of the season, Duke displayed its potential against Virginia Tech as one of the up-and-comers in the ACC landscape. On the men’s side, the unranked Blue Devils fell to the 11th-ranked Hokies 199-127, albeit with an impressive 200-yard medley relay upset victory. Duke women’s 200.5-127.5 victory against No. 24 Virginia Tech was highlighted by a podium sweep in the 200-yard IM event in which junior Sarah Foley finished first with a time of 1:59.57. The Blue Devils will look to keep moving in the right direction Saturday when they travel to UNC Wilmington. -Garrett Spooner

Women’s golf

Looking for her second collegiate win, Phoebe Brinker fell just short at the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational at Governors Club in nearby Chapel Hill, losing in a sudden-death playoff to Kentucky star Jensen Castle. Brinker finished the 54-hole tournament at -7 (209), shooting a 67, 70 and 72 to get into the playoff. Erica Shepherd, on the other hand, notched her second straight top-10 at even. As a group, though, the Blue Devils struggled, finishing at +19 in a tie for fifth. Next, Duke heads to Wilmington, N.C., for the Landfall Tradition, its final event of the fall. -Max Rego

Men’s golf

The Blue Devils closed out the three-day Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate Sunday ranked 11th of 14 teams and +1 in Alpharetta, Ga. Duke was led by sophomore Kelly Chinn, who finished second of 75 golfers competing after going 69, 69 and 66 through 54 holes for 12-under par. Chinn was followed by Ian Siebers (72, 70, 76), William Love (74, 76, 73), Luke Sample (76, 78, 70) and Ethan Evans (79, 74, 78). The Blue Devils next travel to Paradise Island, Bahamas for the White Sands Bahamas Invitational at Ocean Club Course Friday through Sunday. -Young

Women’s tennis

Three Blue Devils appeared in the finals of the ITA Fall Regionals Monday. In the A1 bracket, teammates Chloe Beck and Emma Jackson faced off for the title, with Beck emerging victorious. She won in straight sets (6-1, 6-4) and will advance to the ITA Fall Nationals in November. In the A2 bracket, graduate student Cameron Morra lost to Sarah Hamner of South Carolina in three sets (4-6, 6-3, 2-6). Duke as a whole will return to action in Raleigh in the N.C. State Invitational starting Nov. 4. -Kaplan

Men’s tennis

Duke is nearing the end of a busy week at the ITA Carolina Regional, with senior Andrew Zhang leading the way by mounting a quarterfinal comeback Sunday afternoon, ultimately defeating North Carolina’s Anuj Watane 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 to set up a Monday semifinal against Presbyterian’s Dusan Milanovic. Joining Zhang for the late stages of the tournament is Duke’s senior pairing of  Zhang and Michael Heller, which meets the Tar Heels’ Benjamin Kittay and Logan Zapp in the doubles quarterfinals Monday. The Blue Devils’ top-seeded pairing of senior Garrett Johns and freshman Pedro Rodenas also had a shot at a quarterfinal berth but fell to Presbyterian’s Milanovic-led duo Sunday. -Jonathan Levitan

Softball

The Blue Devils wrapped up their Fall Ball schedule with an 8-2 home win against UNC Greensboro. After the Spartans evened the score at two apiece, senior Kamryn Jackson drove home a run before freshman Aminah Vega broke the game open with a two-run homer to make the score 5-2. Head coach Marissa Young’s “Team Six” will next be back in action for the start of the spring season. -Micah Hurewitz

Cross country and field hockey did not compete this week. Cross country will return to action Friday at the ACC Championships in Charlottesville, Va., and field hockey returns Wednesday at Longwood before closing its regular season at home Saturday against North Carolina.

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