No. 8 Duke, NC State Battle to 1-1 Draw

Sunday, September 22

Durham, N.C.

1:00 PM

Duke University

5-1-2, 0-0-1

NC State

5-3-1, 0-0-1

NC State

Duke

Photo by: Duke Athletics

No. 8 Duke, NC State Battle to 1-1 Draw

9/22/2019 5:51:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score Boxscore

DURHAM, N.C. – In a tightly played contest, the eighth-ranked Duke Blue Devils (5-1-2, 0-0-1 ACC) battled to a 1-1 draw against the NC State Wolfpack (5-3-1, 0-0-1) in the team's ACC opener Sunday afternoon at Koskinen Stadium.

"I thought we played well, but we got nothing out of the first half," said head coach Robbie Church. "That was a big key. Playing so well and having so many opportunities in the first half, but getting nothing out of the half. We didn't do a good job in the second half. Credit to NC State, the took advantage."

After a scoreless half throughout the first 45, the two teams traded goals in the second period to force overtime. NC State's lone goal of the afternoon came on a penalty kick in the 63rd minute of action. The Blue Devils responded with the equalizer with under three minutes to play in regulation as senior Ella Stevens registered her team-leading sixth goal of the season.

From there it was a defensive battle, as neither side conceded a second goal en route to the second tie of the season for the Blue Devils. With the draw, Duke remains unbeaten in the last 19 matches against the Wolfpack (17-0-2) and have not lost to its rivals from Raleigh in the Robbie Church era.

The Blue Devils were aggressive out of the gates, carrying the momentum throughout the first 45, despite not breaking into the scoring column. Duke held the shot advantage, 11-2, while also holding the advantage in corner kicks, 2-0. The Blue Devils registered five shots within the first 13 minutes of play, including an attempt from sophomore Marykate McGuire that was saved by the NC State goalkeeper on a valiant effort.

The Wolfpack seized momentum out of the halftime break, firing off eight shots to just two from Duke. NC State finally broke through for the game's first goal as forward Jameese Joseph was fouled inside the box on a breakaway attempt to secure penalty kick. The Wolfpack turned to midfielder Tziarra King for the PK as she netted the goal with a kick to the left of the post past a diving Brooke Heinsohn.

Duke worked to get back into the contest, eventually evening the score at the at one apiece at the 87:35 mark. Stevens capitalized on a nice touch from freshman Sophie Jones, with a ball that banked off the right post into the goal to tie the contest at 1-1.

NC State held the shot advantage across both overtime periods, 5-1, on its way to eventually outshooting the Duke for the game, 15-14. The Blue Devils had six shots on target, while the Wolfpack only had five.

Next up for the Blue Devils is a trio of road games as the team continues its tough conference slate. Duke travels to in-state foe Wake Forest Thursday, Sept. 26, for a 7 p.m. matchup in Winston-Salem. The Blue Devils will close out the weekend at top-ranked Virginia next Sunday, Sept. 29, which is set for a 2 p.m. kickoff.

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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