It took Duke 20 shots to get on the board against Texas. And now, it’s been over 20 years since the Longhorns last won against the Blue Devils.
In the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Koskinen Stadium, Duke beat Texas 1–0 with junior defender Katie Groff’s header from a corner kick in the 88th minute. Duke’s ninth corner kick serve of the night came from Graduates midfielder Mackenzie Plack, who sent a high swing to the far post. Waiting in the corner of the six-yard box, Groff sneaked behind a small crowd of Longhorn defenders and sent the ball into the opposite corner of the net.
“We mentioned [Pluck] And we said to each other, ‘Let’s find the back side, let’s overhit,'” Groff said after the game. “Sometimes she swings more, but I’ve scored from that kind of serve before, so she said, ‘Let’s hit over and play like I’m coming to it.’ rice field.”
“It’s a very talented team, [for Texas] Getting a zero on the scoreboard is great for our group,” said head coach Robbie Church.
After 20 shots throughout the evening, five of which scored on goal, the finish was certainly a relief for Duke, especially after two flurries that provided the Blue Devils with multiple chances to get on the board. Duke’s closest scoring chance came in the seventh minute when graduate midfielder Delaney Graham fed in the ball from near the flag in the right corner and found Plack’s head to get the fans to their feet. Plack’s header was deflected by Longhorn goalkeeper Savannah Madden, and her follow-up attempt hit the crossbar. A third attempt, this time by freshman Kat Raider, just over the crossbar, let out a collective sigh of frustration from the Blue Devil followers.
like Saturday’s match against RadfordTexas packed their players down the middle of the field, and five were in the penalty box when Graham carried the ball to the left side of the field, doubling Cooper’s coverage and slowing Duke’s transition offense, making it easier for them to move. Deflected most of Duke’s early shots, players in burnt orange jerseys.
“I think we started a little late. I didn’t find the rhythm for the first 10-15 minutes. said Church.
Cooper returned to the midfielder role in the second half to help give the attack another look, Church explained, but said she was less comfortable with the position. Junior midfielder Olivia Migli stepped up to endanger himself from the left flank to support some aggressive pushes in the second half. His fellow junior midfielder Grace Watkins fell after an encounter with a Longhorn defender, Migli recovered and sent it towards the net, only to be scored by Madden before the Duke player scored the goal. rescued quickly.
The name of the game for Duke’s defense was to hold off sophomore forward Trinity Byers. He sits fifth in the nation with 17 total goals this season. That responsibility was led by sisters Emily and Jenna Lawson, who divided Byers’ bracket coverage. Her closer sister marks her while the other sister covers and fills in the centre-back position.
“Our defense plan was to know the general area of where [Byars and sophomore midfielder Lexi Missimo] To make sure we are one player. If they had two, they had three, and if they had one, they had two,” said Emily Royson. , one is a cover) and then did a great job of turning back. [Groff or Maggie Graham] to help us
Both teams were frustrated with the game remaining scoreless until the 87th minute. For Duke, this became apparent by taking some far-away shots. Cooper, in particular, started the second half with a few shots from well over the penalty box, but Texas struggled to control offensive runs during the transition, with six offsides in 90 minutes. won. .
The climax of the second half came when Pluck battled a Longhorn defender for possession of the ball on the goal line and won 1–1. Her serve gave Duke another deflected shot opportunity, first by senior midfielder Sophie Jones. The try was followed up by Maggie Graham and deflected behind the goal line. The ensuing corner kick was Duke’s game-winning play.
After the game, Texas head coach Angela Kelly said, “We’ve had a great season.” It was scheduled to be a match of
Duke will be home again on Sunday to face South Carolina in the Sweet 16 at 6pm.
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Leah Boyd is Pratt’s senior and the chairman of society for Volume 118 of Chronicle. She was previously Editor-in-Chief of Volume 117.
