Sophomores Shine as Duke Cruises Past Clemson, 4-1

Sunday, October 13

Durham, N.C.

1:00 PM

Duke University

7-1-5, 2-0-4

Clemson

8-4-1, 2-4-0

Clemson

Duke

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Sophomores Shine as Duke Cruises Past Clemson, 4-1

10/13/2019 5:14:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score Boxscore

DURHAM, N.C. – A pair of braces from the sophomore duo of Marykate McGuire and Mackenzie Pluck propelled the No. 11 Duke Blue Devils (7-1-5, 2-0-4 ACC) to a 4-1 victory over ninth-ranked Clemson (8-4-1, 2-4-0 ACC) Sunday afternoon at Koskinen Stadium. The duo each finished with a game-high tying five points, as each recorded two goals and one assist.

"Our girls have played so hard over the last three weeks," said head coach Robbie Church. "They've never quit believing in themselves and they've always continued to work hard. We took some really great opportunities and were confident with it. We haven't had that in the ACC with us scoring early goals. Playing with a lead gives us more confidence."

The matchup marked Duke's fourth consecutive contest versus a ranked opponent, while giving the Blue Devils their first win of the season against a top 10 foe. Duke's four goals marked the team's most goals in an ACC matchup since last year's match at Syracuse, when the Blue Devils defeated the Orange 4-0, on Sept. 16.

"This mentality of our team is a different mentality than we've had in a while," Church added. "They're warriors, they fight and they scrap. They play hard and they create opportunities. We don't give up much and we're hard to break down. I love this team, it's just a great team. I love their attitude."

Duke used a dominant first half of action to cruise to a 2-0 halftime lead, scoring the two quickest goals of the season. The Blue Devils wasted no time getting on the board as they jumped into the scoring column just seven minutes into the game, marking the team's quickest goal of 2019. McGuire broke through for the team's first goal of the contest at the 06:57 mark. The second-year Blue Devil connected on a ball that was sent in from senior Ella Stevens, while junior Lily Nabet delivered the final pass, marking her second assist of the season.

Pluck gave Duke its second goal of the afternoon less than seven minutes later, connecting on her sixth goal of the season. The North Wales, Pa., native intercepted a pass from the Clemson goalkeeper in the final third of the pitch before striking a clean shot into the back of the net to give the Blue Devils a 2-0 lead that they would take into halftime.

Clemson broke through with its lone goal of the match in the 54^th minute to make it a one-score game, but Duke would answer with two more goals to seal the victory. Pluck scored at the 57:59 mark, securing her second multi-goal game of the season, while McGuire netted the brace in the 75^th minute to notch her first career multi-goal game.

Stevens closed out the contest with a game-high tying two assists, while Nabet also recorded a pair of assists to mark her first career multi-assist game.

Redshirt junior Brooke Heinsohn picked up the win, tallying five saves on the day, while facing 13 shots. The Tigers' goal ended a streak of 392 scoreless minutes for the Duke keeper.

The Blue Devils will hit the road for their next match, traveling to Louisville, Ky., for matchup with the No. 16 Louisville Cardinals. The match is set for a 5 p.m. kickoff Friday evening, and will air live on ACC Network Extra.

For more information on Duke women's soccer, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for "DukeWSoc". You can also find all-access coverage of all Duke athletic programs on SnapChat by searching for "dukeathletics".

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