No. 8 Duke Blanks Wake Forest, 2-0

Friday, October 15

Winston-Salem, N.C.

7 p.m.

Duke University

Wake Forest

No. 8 Duke Blanks Wake Forest, 2-0

10/15/2021 10:42:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score BOX SCORE (PDF)

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – No. 8 Duke scored twice in the opening 22 minutes and controlled the pace the rest of the way in a 2-0 win at Wake Forest on Friday night.

The Blue Devils (10-2-1, 4-2-1 ACC) finished with 11 shots while allowing just one attempt on target for the Demon Deacons (12-3-0, 4-3-0 ACC). Duke picks up its 10th win of the season for the 27th time in program history, including the sixth time in the last seven years.

The Blue Devils struck first at the 7:24 mark on freshman Michelle Cooper's eighth goal of the season. Duke forced a turnover in the midfield and the ball was played back towards the Demon Deacon back line, where Cooper busted through a pair of defenders before dribbling it around goalkeeper Kaitlyn Parks and calmly putting it in the open net.

Graduate student Tess Boade doubled the lead in the 22nd minute with her sixth goal of the season. Boade sprinted up the right sideline and was played a cross-field pass from senior Mackenzie Pluck with no defenders in front of her. The Highlands Ranch, Colo., native dribbled the ball to the top of the box and fired a right-footed shot into the left side of the net.

The Blue Devils maintained possession for the remainder of the half and found more scoring chances, highlighted by a Marykate McGuire goal that was called back for offsides in the 40th minute. Duke went into the break with three shots on target off seven attempts.

Wake Forest pushed pack in the early stages of the second half, tallying its lone shot on goal in the 51st minute. Abbie Colton was played a ball at the top of the box and sent a right-footed strike towards goal, but junior Ruthie Jones got her hand on it to deflect it out of play. The Blue Devil defense was able to clear the ensuing corner, ending the threat.

Jones earned her fourth complete-game shutout of the season and improved her save percentage to .821.

Duke nearly made it a 3-0 match in the 71st minute when Cooper and Boade had a two-on-one chance from the left side. Cooper sent a pinpoint pass across the box to Boade, who only had Parks to beat but one-timed her shot over the net.

The Blue Devils are back in action on Thursday, Oct. 21 when they host Notre Dame at Koskinen Stadium. The match kicks off at 7 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.

NOTES

The 2021 season marks the 21st at Duke for head coach Robbie Church, where he is now 266-133-60.
The Blue Devils are 9-4-1 in their last 14 road matches dating back to the start of the 2020-21 season and have outscored their opponents 24-11 in that stretch.
With tonight's match coming off a 5-0 victory against Pittsburgh on Sunday, Duke has recorded consecutive shutouts for the third time this season. The Blue Devils had a 6-0 win over Western Carolina (Aug. 26) followed by a 2-0 win at Vanderbilt (Aug. 29), and then a 5-0 win over East Carolina (Sept. 9) followed by a 1-0 win at North Carolina (Sept. 17).
Freshman Michelle Cooper's eight goals this season are the most by a Duke freshman since Ella Stevens had 10 in 2016.
Senior Mackenzie Pluck recorded her team-leading sixth assist of the season on Duke's second goal. Pluck now has an assist in four of her last five matches.
Graduate student Tess Boade has goals in three consecutive matches for the first time in her career. The Highlands Ranch, Colo., native has seven points over her last three games.
Senior Delaney Graham (1,087), sophomore Emily Royson (1,067) and sophomore Katie Groff (1,037) all logged 90 minutes on Friday and surpassed 1,000 minutes played this season.