No. 5 Duke Falls to No. 7 WVU, 3-2

Saturday, March 27

Morgantown, W.Va.

3 P.M.

Duke University

9-5-2, 7-4-2

West Virginia

9-2-0, 7-2-0

Duke

West Virginia

No. 5 Duke Falls to No. 7 WVU, 3-2

3/27/2021 8:26:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score BOX SCORE (PDF)

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 5 Duke women's soccer team trimmed a two-goal deficit to one at the 53:10 mark, but it could not find an equalizer in a hard-fought 3-2 loss at No. 7 West Virginia on Saturday afternoon.

After holding their opponents to zero goals through the first two games of the spring season, the Blue Devils (9-5-2) fell into a 2-0 hole less than 20 minutes into the match. The Mountaineers (9-2-0) got on the board at the 7:01 mark, when Juliana Lynch sent a corner kick to the far post that was headed home by Lauren Segalla. Ten minutes later, West Virginia picked up a misplayed ball by the Duke defense, and Alina Stahl sent a cross into the box that was finished by Isabella Sibley to double the home team's advantage.

"First of all, congratulations to West Virginia," said head coach Robbie Church. "I thought they played with a lot of energy, I thought they played with a lot of emotion and they played hard. I think there are key moments of every match, and today the key moments were the beginning of each half. They scored seven minutes into the half, and obviously that first goal is so important."

The physicality picked up throughout the first half, as each team was called for eight fouls in the game.

Duke would get one back before the half, as a passing buildup moved along the right side of the pitch and found freshman defender Emily Royson. Royson served the ball across the box to sophomore Sophie Jones, who buried her second goal of the season to pull Duke within one with 2:40 left in the opening period.

Jones, an All-ACC First Team pick during the fall campaign, has now scored in back-to-back games after not getting on the board in her first 24 career matches. Royson picked up her second career assist on the play.

The momentum that the Blue Devils carried into the locker room was short lived, however, as West Virginia answered with a goal by Stahl just 1:24 into the second half. The Mountaineers forced a turnover in the middle of the field, and Stefany Ferrer-vanGinkel found a gap in the Duke defense to send a through ball to a streaking Stahl, who netted her third goal in the last two games.

The Blue Devils were able to cut it back to one seven minutes later with senior Caitlin Cosme's fifth goal of the season. The tally came off a set piece, as fellow senior Tess Boade sent a ball into the box that was punched out by West Virginia goalkeeper Kayza Massey. Cosme worked herself free to head the ball in and make it a 3-2 game with just under 37 minutes remaining.

The team captain from New Hyde Park, N.Y., has five goals in 16 matches this year after scoring just one in 28 matches the previous three seasons. She has put in two in three games this spring, with both coming off headers.

Both teams battled down the stretch, with a faster tempo emerging in the top-10 affair. Boade fired a ball towards goal at the 79:09 mark that went wide, which proved to be Duke's final shot of the match.

"We were down two, but we never gave up," Church said. "We kept fighting and fighting, and we created a lot of chances and shots. The game was just lost in those big moments, and it was kind of lost in the first half when they had more energy. That's something we have to learn. This game was very intense, hard-fought – tackles all over the field. Both teams played hard and both teams had really good moments. It was such a big step up from the first two games of the spring in terms of intensity, and that's what we have to learn."

Sophomore goalkeeper Ruthie Jones made three saves for the Blue Devils, and drops to 8-5-2 on the season with the losing decision.

Duke is back in action on Friday, April 2, when it makes the short trip to Raleigh, N.C., for a 7 p.m. match against NC State.

#GoDuke