Paschall’s Second Half Goal Pushes Duke into ACC Semifinals in Cary

Tuesday, November 10

Cary, N.C.

3 P.M.

Duke University

7-3-2, 6-3-2

Clemson

6-4-0, 5-3-0

Duke

Clemson

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Paschall’s Second Half Goal Pushes Duke into ACC Semifinals in Cary

11/10/2020 7:40:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score Duke-Clemson Box - ACC Quarterfinals Paschall Interview Church Interview

CARY, N.C. – The fifth-seeded Duke women's soccer team earned a 1-0 victory against fourth-seeded and fifth-ranked Clemson Tuesday in the quarterfinals of the ACC Championship at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C., to advance to the semifinals.

With the victory, the Blue Devils improved to 7-3-2 overall, while Clemson concluded its fall season with a 6-4-0 ledger. The Blue Devils advance to face top-seeded and second-ranked Florida State Friday, Nov. 13 at 5:30 p.m., at WakeMed Soccer Park. The match will be aired live on the ACC Network.

"I'm so proud of the whole group, the collective toughness, and how we compete every time out," said Duke head coach Robbie Church. "We did not start the game well, and we have to figure that out by Friday, because was cannot come out here and start a game like this against Florida State. We will figure that out, but about halfway through today we settled down, kept longer possessions, and the momentum shifted to our side. Sometimes halftime can be a good thing, and sometimes it can be a curse. I was not looking for halftime, because I thought we were playing well at the end of the (first) half, so we wanted to make sure we came out of halftime continuing that momentum. We did a really good job getting a goal six or seven minutes after halftime. I'm really proud of them."

Tuesday's win marks the first time Duke has advanced past the quarterfinals of the ACC Championship since 2017 when the Blue Devils lost in the finals, 1-0, to North Carolina.

A second half goal from senior Karlie Paschall proved to be the difference as she notched the seventh tally of her career. A product of Brentwood, Tenn., Paschall came off the bench in the contest and played 60 minutes, while attempting a team-high four shots.

"Karlie made a big-time play on a great pass from Emily Royson, who, as a freshman back, had the guts to get into the middle of the defense and play the ball into Karlie," said Church. "I'm glad she (Karlie Paschall) didn't listen to me at halftime, because she looked up and saw the keeper cheating a little, and there was a hole, and so she drove it (the ball). That's one of the reasons we moved her up front (to forward) this year; there are not a lot of players who can hit the ball like she does, and when she hits it, it's hard. If the goalkeeper is moving one direction and has to change, it is going to be tough for her to make a save."

After receiving a pass from rookie Emily Royson, Paschall drove down the right side of the pitch, blasting a shot in between the goalkeeper and the near post to log her first goal since 2018.

"I did a 1-2 with Emily (Royson) and I looked up, and I was going to cross it, but I saw their goalkeeper cheating off the line," said Paschall. "(Duke head coach) Robbie (Church) told us at halftime not to kick it to the near post, but I went against his word and did so anyway. But, I did notice her cheating off the line, so there was a little bit of a gap."

Both teams displayed good passing and defense in the first half, with Duke barely outshooting Clemson by a 5-3 ledger.

The Blue Devils first shot attempt of the match came 19 minutes into the first half as senior Tess Boade sent a shot that was saved by Clemson goalkeeper Hensley Hancuff.

Later in the half, Duke had a great scoring opportunity as sophomore Sophie Jones and rookie Maggie Graham played a perfect give-and-go that resulted in Jones sending a shot from about 10 yards out that was saved.

The Blue Devils best opportunity of the first half came when senior Lily Nabet nearly found the net with 21 seconds remaining, as she sent a shot that went just over the top right corner of the crossbar.

After Paschall's goal in the 51st minute, Clemson went on the attack, outshooting Duke by a 4-3 margin for the half.

Clemson had an opportunity to tie the match later in the second half when Renee Guion sent a corner kick into the box that Duke sophomore goalkeeper Ruthie Jones punched into the net; however, Jones was fouled in the process, which negated the potential goal for the Tigers.

With about five minutes remaining in the match, junior Marykate McGuire got past the Clemson center backs into the open field, but she was tripped from behind, which resulted in a red card for Clemson.
The Tigers were unable to find the net over the final five minutes with only 10 players on the pitch as a result of the red card.

The shutout marks Duke's sixth of the season and Ruthie Jones' fifth in goal for the Blue Devils. Jones, who is from Charlotte, N.C., collected three saves over 90 minutes of action in the win.

"That's something that we talked about at halftime — Kate (Caitlin Cosme), one of our senior captains, was talking about how we had never advanced past the first round of the ACC Tournament (since 2017), and we as a senior class really wanted to get past the first round," added Paschall. "I know we still have more games to play, but we were definitely focused on that. I think it is really sweet that in our final year, we were able to go further than we have since freshman year. Our freshman year team was really special, and we cannot fully replicate that, but I think we have the momentum going with us for the rest of the tournament."

#GoDuke

Notes:
•   The win marks Duke's second victory over Clemson this season and improved to 15-29-3 all-time in the ACC Championship
•   Duke will face Florida State for the second time this season in the semifinals on Friday. FSU scored with 14 seconds remaining two weeks ago in Tallahassee, Fla., to win 1-0.
•   Duke owns a four-match winning streak against Clemson and leads the series, 15-13-1
•   Since 2015, Duke is 16-5-1 in matches played in the month of November.