Blue Devils Shut Out No. 7 Princeton in Home Opener

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Friday, September 5

Durham, N.C.

4:30 PM

Duke University

Princeton

Blue Devils Shut Out No. 7 Princeton in Home Opener

9/5/2014 7:48:00 PM | Field Hockey

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. – A tip-in goal by junior midfielder Aileen Johnson in the 58th minute propelled fourth-ranked Duke past seventh-ranked Princeton, 1-0, Friday afternoon in a battle of top-10 teams at Williams Field at Jack Katz Stadium.

Stifling defensive play from the Blue Devils' backline and midfield coupled with a persistent attacking effort up top garnered Duke (3-0) its first shutout of the season and second victory over a ranked opponent.

“The thing I'm most proud of, honestly, is that they stayed with it,” said head coach Pam Bustin. “We've definitely been working on scoring opportunities and capitalizing on our penalty corners, but obviously it's still a work in progress. I'm just so pleased that the kids stayed with it. They didn't get discouraged or too frustrated with it – they just kept up the pace of play and stayed to what we know. If you can do that, at some point, something's going to have to break. I'm really proud of the way we finished that one play and hung on to it the rest of the game.”

The majority of play in the opening half took place in the middle third of the field, with both defenses holding steady. The Blue Devils had the chance to run set pieces on two early penalty corners but were unable to get past Princeton goalkeeper Anya Gersoff. At the other end, senior midfielder Abby Beltrani and junior back Amanda Kim led a strong defensive effort within the circle to hold the Tigers without a shot during the entire first period.

Princeton (0-1) opened the second half with its first penalty corner opportunity but saw the ensuing shot go off the mark. Duke responded with a barrage of shots on its attacking end until Johnson tapped one past Gersoff off of a feed from freshman Ainsley Gill with 12:34 remaining on the clock. The goal was Johnson's first of the season while Gill collected her team-leading fifth point of the year on the assist.

“As a team, we were really clicking and played as a unit,” Johnson said. “Anya [Gersoff] is a very good goalie and we knew that. After you hit the ball you have to move it in and score so we have to work on our small little movements there.”

The Tigers threatened inside the final five minutes, as senior striker Sydney Kirby fired a couple of late shots at the cage. However, Duke held on to win by a 1-0 score in regulation and solidify the program's best start to a season since 2006.

For the contest, the Blue Devils outshot Princeton 20-4 and held a 14-4 advantage in penalty corners. Gersoff concluded an impressive outing for the Tigers with 12 saves while redshirt junior Lauren Blazing notched one stop for Duke in the shutout.

The Blue Devils welcome another non-conference opponent to Williams Field this weekend, hosting Temple Sunday, Sept. 7 at 12 p.m. The match will be streamed live on Blue Devil Network Plus.

#GoDuke