With last night’s 1-0 win over N.C. State, the Duke women’s soccer team won the regular season ACC championship (only the second in program history, and the first since 1994) and earned four points for the Devils in the Erwin Cup.
Technically, that gives Duke a 6.5-4.5 lead, as you see on the scoreboard to your right.
Unfortunately, what I didn’t realize is that the ACC field hockey season has come to an end, and the UNC women are champions. So…when those points go up, UNC will be back in the lead, 7.5-6.5.
But until William fixes the score…GO DEVILS!
Edit: I’ve fixed the scoreboard. GO HEELS! – William
The game in Raleigh was great last night. State smartly played a very defensive game, double- and triple-teaming Kelly Cobb up front and basically taking her out of the game. As with many ACC games this season, Duke came out sluggish and timid in the first half, and State nearly took a 1-0 lead when Tara Campbell, the Duke keeper, cleared a dangerous through ball off a State player. The carom sent the ball trickling toward the face, and it was a race to the goal line as Duke defender Kim DeCesare sprinted to clear. She arrived just in time, and the draw was preserved as DeCesare crashed into the net and the ball skidded out of play.
Other than that, State didn’t really attack for most of the game, and Duke came out more aggressive in the second. Mollie Pathman was carving up the left side of the State defense and creating opportunities at what seemed like two minute intervals. Finally, one of her crosses found the head of Kaitlyn Kerr, and Duke had its goal. After that, they backed off (unwisely, I thought), and had to deal with some real chances from State before they survived with the narrow win.
Super highlights and interviews from GoDuke: