Pluck’s Brace Leads Duke to Program’s 400th Victory

Thursday, September 5

Durham, N.C.

6:00 PM

Duke University

2-0-1, 0-0-0

UNLV

2-1-0, 0-0-0

UNLV

Duke

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Pluck’s Brace Leads Duke to Program’s 400th Victory

9/5/2019 9:28:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score Duke vs. UNLV Boxscore

DURHAM, N.C. – Behind a pair of first-half goals from sophomore Mackenzie Pluck, the 12^th-ranked Duke women's soccer team earned the program's 400^th all-time victory with a 3-0 win over UNLV to open the 2019 Duke Nike Classic. With the victory, the Blue Devils improve to 3-1-1 on the season, while the Lady Rebels fall to 2-2-0 on the campaign.

"I thought we did a really good job of adjusting with the elements," said head coach Robbie Church. "We had a really good week. I thought Kieran Hall, Carla (Overbeck) and Lane (Davis), our coaches, did a great job of preparing offensively, defensively, and obviously Lane with goalkeepers. I thought they did a really good job in video this week that we talked to, our kids did a great job, we had longer video sessions, we kind of looked into ourselves this week."

It was a stellar first half for Pluck, who got the Blue Devils on the board in the 24^th minute action with her second goal of the season. Junior Remi Swartz began the scoring sequence, with a pass to fellow junior Tess Boade as the Blue Devils made their way down the final third on the right side of the pitch. Boade provided the setup for Pluck in the box, who continued down the right side and placed a shot just above the UNLV keeper's hands to put Duke ahead 1-0.

Pluck did not take long to follow up the effort, as the North Wales, Pa., native cashed in on her second score of the evening at the 38:27 mark of play, securing her first career multi-goal game. Freshman Emmy Duerr provided the long service for Pluck into the box, before the sophomore beat the goalkeeper for an open shot into the goal to give the Blue Devils a 2-0 first-half lead.

Duke carried its momentum into the second 45, as the Blue Devils struck again just over 10 minutes into the second half to push the advantage to 3-0. This time it was sophomore Marykate McGuire, who connected on a goal on the left side of the box, as senior Ella Stevens made the assist.

"I think we're getting better and just look forward to finishing the tournament," Church added. "Now we've got to start the recovery and kind of make some tweaks and get ready for LSU on Sunday."

Overall, Duke outshot the UNLV, 23-6, including 10-4 in the first half. The Blue Devils also earned nine corner kicks, while limiting the Lady Rebels to zero.

The duo of junior Brooke Heinsohn and freshman Ruthie Jones combined for the Duke's third shutout of the season, with Jones making her collegiate debut.

The 2019 Duke Nike Classic continues Sunday, Sept. 8, as the four teams return to the pitch. The top-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels are set to begin the day's action at 11 a.m. with a matchup against UNLV. The Blue Devils will take part in the second contest of the afternoon, facing off against LSU at 1:30 p.m. Fans can catch all of the action 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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