Just under a week removed from a remarkable draw against then-No. 1 North Carolina last Sunday, the attitude at Koskinen Stadium Friday evening was distinctly more somber.
The 23rd-ranked Blue Devils fell 1-0 against No. 7 Clemson courtesy of Makenna Morris’ first-half goal — a goal which all but eliminated them from contention for the ACC tournament and the later NCAA tournament.
The decisive score was from the penalty spot at the 28:19 mark of the first half after referees confirmed a hand-ball. Despite Duke goalkeeper Leah Freeman’s worthy attempt, the ball hit the lower-right post and bounced into the goal to give Clemson the win.
“We didn’t have the ball … we let the ball bounce in a dangerous arena,” head coach Robbie Church said about the penalty. “We got to do those little things and that was the moment that cost us and that’s what happens in the ACC.”
Before the penalty kick, the Tigers dominated the Blue Devils (5-5-3, 1-3-3 in the ACC) during the first half, ending with 58% total possession compared to Duke’s 42%. Most of their attacks originated from the right side, and ended in dangerous possessions as Freeman was put to work. It was only a matter of time before Clemson (11-1-3, 5-1-1) scored its first goal, but the Blue Devils came back strong toward the end of the half. After a series of bounces inside the Tigers’ area, senior midfielder Maggie Graham had a clear target towards the goal, but the ball was just wide above the top post and the Blue Devils ended the half trailing.
“We gave them way too much respect,” Church said. “This year what gets us better is chaos, creating chaos, and we created chaos in the second half and we had more opportunities. We ran harder, we pressed harder, we pushed forward, we got numbers forward, we had good opportunities.”
Duke was indeed able to garner more offense during the second half. The team held the ball longer which in turn led to very close goal opportunities. Notably, freshman Mia Minestrella had a promising opportunity midway through the period that was saved by Clemson goalkeeper Halle Mackiewicz.
“I’m really proud of how we adjusted in the second half, but we don’t have time for the second half,” Church said. “We have to come out before 90 minutes or our season is going to be over.”
“And then when we create [opportunities] we gotta at least finish some of them,” he said. “We were so close … but we just can’t seem to take that little bit of getting over.”
As the clock ticked, the Blue Devils continued to generate dangerous opportunities even after Graham came off due to injury. She was able to return back into the game but center back Baleigh Bruster was taken off at around the 75th minute and could not return. Injuries have been a recurring theme for the team this year, which has forced Church to vary the starting lineups from game to game.
“We’re just moving people around … we’re just putting people in different positions, we’re just trying to survive with them,” Church said. “I think Baleigh will be fine, Maggie obviously came back on so she was fine, we need to get Carina [Legeyre] back, Olivia [Migli] got hurt too and she left and she hasn’t been in there for a month.”
A final effort by sophomore Julia Saunicheva capped off the last chance of a goal for the Blue Devils as Clemson defender Harper White finished off yet another dominant defensive performance. Tiger defenders Megan Bornkamp and Hal Hershfelt also had outstanding outings and were a big reason why Duke’s front wasn’t able to generate as much space this game.
Despite the heartbreak, the Blue Devils will hope to bounce-back against Virginia Tech this coming Thursday.
“Our team is used to bouncing back, we’ve been in a lot of games,” Church said. “We’ll bounce back. I’m not worried about that. I’m worried about more execution.”
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