Duerr’s Brace Leads Duke Past Utah in NCAA First Round, 4-0

Friday, November 15

Durham, N.C.

6:00 P.M.

Duke University

9-3-7, 3-1-6

Utah

8-9-4, 3-5-3

Utah

Duke

Emmy Duerr celebrates after scoring goal

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Duerr’s Brace Leads Duke Past Utah in NCAA First Round, 4-0

11/15/2019 9:55:00 PM | Women's Soccer

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DURHAM, N.C. – Behind two goals from freshman Emmy Duerr, the 12^th-ranked Duke women's soccer team (9-3-7, 3-1-6 ACC) cruised to a 4-0 victory over Utah (8-4, 3-5-3 Pac-12) Friday evening at Koskinen Stadium in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

"I thought we ramped it up a little bit in the second half," said head coach Robbie Church. "We finished well in the second half. It was great to see us score goals. I'm very happy and we're very fortunate because we're one of 32 teams left in the country. As we move up, it becomes tougher."

Duke dominated possession throughout the first half, resulting in a 1-0 lead in favor of the home team at the halftime break. The Blue Devils carried their momentum into the second 45, scoring a trio of goals en route to the first round victory. With the result, Duke advances into the second round of the postseason for the ninth-straight time, while pushing its home winning streak to 10 games in the NCAA Tournament.

The Blue Devils' first half goal came in the 31^st minute, as Duerr connected on a ball from sophomore Mackenzie Pluck to give the Blue Devils the 1-0 advantage. Pluck worked the left side of the final third before sending a ball into the box, as Duerr connected on her first career goal. The Cary, N.C., native became just the eighth player in Duke history to net her first career goal in the NCAA Tournament.

Duerr returned in the second half to register her second goal of the contest in the 51^st minute, marking her first career multi-goal game and Duke's fifth brace of the season. Duerr became just the second Blue Devil in school history to score their first two goals in NCAA play, as she joined teammate Karlie Paschall, who recorded two goals in her freshman season against Oklahoma State on Nov. 17, 2017.

"We needed Emmy," Church added. "She brings an abundance of energy to us. She sprints around and she's getting confident on the ball now. She's been playing well and she works so hard. I knew she was going to get a big goal, and she got two of them."

Junior Tess Boade added to the Blue Devil lead less than 15 minutes later, as she notched her fourth goal of the season at the 65:01 mark. Paschall provided a long service through the air into the final third before Boade took one touch and sent it into the back of the net to put Duke up 3-0 with under 25 minutes to play.

The Blue Devils cashed in on their fourth goal of the contest in the 88^th minute, as Pluck registered her eighth goal of the campaign. The sophomore forward worked the left side of the final third before firing off a shot that sailed past the Utah keeper's outstretched hands into the back of the net to set the score at 4-0, the eventual final.

Duerr led the offensive effort with a career-high four points, while the duo of Pluck and Boade each contributed three points with apiece. The pair of redshirt junior Brooke Heinsohn and freshman Ruthie Jones combined for the Duke's ninth shutout of the season in the goal, as Heinsohn picked up the win for the Blue Devils.

With the win, Duke moves on to the second round of the NCAA Tournament to face No. 3 seed Wisconsin, who advanced with a win over Milwaukee. The two teams are set for a second-round matchup next Friday, Nov. 22, in either Los Angeles, Calif., or Madison, Wisc. The winner will advance to play either No. 2 seed UCLA, Lamar University or Clemson.

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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