Gyau’s Late Goal Pushes No. 10 Duke Past Wake Forest

Thursday, September 26

Winston-Salem, N.C.

7:00 PM

Duke University

Wake Forest

Women's Soccer player Mia Gyau kicking the ball in front of an opposing team player

Gyau’s Late Goal Pushes No. 10 Duke Past Wake Forest

9/26/2019 10:09:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score Boxscore

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – A late goal from senior Mia Gyau in the 85^th minute propelled the 10^th-ranked Duke Blue Devils (6-1-2, 1-0-1 ACC) to a 3-2 victory over Wake Forest (5-3-2) Thursday evening at Spry Stadium.

"I'm very proud of us tonight," said head coach Robbie Church. "To come out here at Spry Stadium in one of the tougher environments and play against a very good Wake Forest team after a poor second half against NC State was tough. We made some changes in our lineup, and people responded. This was a huge win for us tonight. It showed true character for us."

Gyau provided the game-winning goal for the Blue Devils, notching her first score of the season in the at the 84:50 mark of play. After a shot from junior Lily Nabet bounced off the crossbar, Gyau headed in the rebound to put Duke ahead, 3-2, with five minutes left to play. With the win, Duke extended its winning streak over Wake Forest to four games, while earning its sixth all-time win in Winston-Salem.

Wake Forest began the evening's scoring, striking in the first few minutes of play to grab the early advantage. The Demon Deacons worked the right side of the pitch before using a long service into the final third to set up the scoring opportunity. Ryanne Brown sent a ball across the box to teammate Hayley Younginer who scored the contest's first goal at the 3:56 mark.

Duke responded less than 10 minutes later, getting on the board in the 14^th minute. Junior Tess Boade sparked the sequence, notching her third assist of the season. Boade worked the final third of the right side before sending a ball into sophomore Marykate McGuire, who scored on one touch with a chip shot of the Wake Forest keeper's head to even the contest. The score would hold for the remainder of the first half as the two teams headed into break in a 1-1 tie.

Wake Forest held the shot advantage in the first half, 3-2, while also holding the advantage in corner kicks by a 3-2 margin. Each team each had only one shot on goal, while the Demon Deacons committed three offside penalties in the first period.

Duke was aggressive out of the gates in the second half, resulting in a goal in the 49^th minute of action. The duo of senior Ella Stevens and sophomore Mackenzie Pluck connected on the Blue Devils' second score of the contest to give Duke the advantage. Stevens delivered a through ball into final third to Pluck who broke away on the left side of the box before sending a ball into the back of the net for her fifth goal of the season.

The Demon Deacons broke through with the equalizer at the 80:25 mark as Hulda Amarsdottir connected on a shot to make it a 2-2 contest with less than 10 minutes remaining in regulation, before Gyau's goal gave Duke the late advantage.

The two teams ended the contest with an even mark in shots, 9-9, while the Blue Devils held the advantage in corner kicks, 5-4. Redshirt junior Brooke Heinsohn earned her sixth win of the season, improving her record to 6-1-2, while recording three second-half saves.

Following tonight's contest, Duke is set to continue its three-game road stint with a matchup against the top-ranked Virginia Cavaliers. The Blue Devils will head to Charlottesville this weekend for a Sunday afternoon conference match. The contest is scheduled for a 2 p.m. kickoff, airing live on ACC Network.

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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