No. 2 Duke Falls at No. 7 Virginia, 1-0

Thursday, September 23

Charlottesville, Va.

7 p.m.

Duke University

7-1-0, 1-1-0

Virginia

9-1-0, 2-0-0

Duke

Virginia

No. 2 Duke Falls at No. 7 Virginia, 1-0

9/23/2021 10:56:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score BOX SCORE (PDF)

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 2 Duke suffered its first loss of the season Thursday night, falling 1-0 to No. 7 Virginia at Klöckner Stadium.

After falling behind in the 57th minute, the Blue Devils (7-1-0, 1-1-0 ACC) had multiple opportunities to level the score, including two shots on goal in a six-minute span. The Cavaliers (9-1-0, 2-0-0 ACC) managed to thwart each attempt, however, and held on to deal Duke its first regulation loss in its last 13 games dating back to March 27, 2021.

"I thought we responded phenomenally in the last 35 minutes after their goal," head coach Robbie Church said. "We had chances. I'm proud of our effort tonight. I'm upset with the result – obviously, we want to win every match. I think we could have done some things better tonight, but that's how it goes."

The first half featured back-and-forth play with each side finding good looks at goal. Junior Ruthie Jones came up with two early stops on shots from Haley Hopkins in the eighth and 12th minute to keep the match scoreless. Jones finished the night with five saves, marking the first time in her career that she recorded five or more stops in back-to-back appearances.

Duke's best chance of the half came in the 25th minute, as senior Mackenzie Pluck fired one from 30 yards out that struck the crossbar. Two of Pluck's four shot attempts for the match were on goal, while graduate student Tess Boade had three shots.

The Cavaliers struck at the 56:17 mark on a play started by a free kick from the right side of the 18-yard box. Alexis Theoret served a high ball that Hopkins headed to the back post, where Diana Ordoñez re-directed it past Jones with her left foot.

Ordoñez's tally snapped a streak of 260:27 minutes in which Duke did not allow a goal. The Blue Devils earned shutouts in each of their previous two matches and have yielded just three goals in the second half of games this season.

The Blue Devils built up pressure in the attacking third over the closing minutes, and were able to set Pluck up for an open look at goal inside the box at the 74:43 mark. The senior's shot was corralled by Virginia goalkeeper Laurel Ivory.

Duke faces a quick turnaround and another tough road test in the ACC, as the Blue Devils head to Virginia Tech for a 5 p.m. match on Sunday, Sept. 26. The match will air on ACC Network.

NOTES

The 2021 season marks the 21st at Duke for head coach Robbie Church, where he is now 263-132-59.
Duke trails the all-time series against Virginia, 16-20-9.
Sophomore Nicky Chico made her first career start and logged a career-high 90 minutes.
Sophomore Katie Groff played the full match on the back line and surpassed 1,000 minutes in her Duke career.
Duke was held scoreless for the first time since its NCAA Quarterfinal match against Florida State on May 9, 2021.