Migli’s Second Half Goal Leads No. 7 Duke Past No. 13 Pitt

Sunday, October 9

Durham, N.C.

1 P.M.

Duke University

10-3-0, 5-1-0

Pittsburgh

11-3-0, 4-2-0

Pittsburgh

Duke

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Migli’s Second Half Goal Leads No. 7 Duke Past No. 13 Pitt

10/9/2022 4:50:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score BOX SCORE (PDF)MIGLI INTERVIEW CHURCH INTERVIEW PHOTO GALLERY

DURHAM – Junior Olivia Migli connected on a second half goal to lead the seventh-ranked Duke women's soccer team to a 1-0 victory on Sunday afternoon at Koskinen Stadium against 13th-ranked Pittsburgh.

The Blue Devil defense collected their sixth shutout of the season to help Duke improve to 10-3 overall and 5-1 in the ACC, while the Panthers fell to 11-3, 4-2.

How It Happened
•   Both teams were in a defensive battle in the first half, which featured only seven shots. Pittsburgh held a 4-3 advantage in shots after 45 minutes.
•   Michelle Cooper, Kat Rader and Mackenzie Pluck each attempted shots in the first half.
•   In the first five minutes of the second half, Sophie Jones crossed in a ball to freshman Kat Rader, who headed a shot that went into the hands of Pitt goalkeeper Caitlyn Lazzarini.
•   At the 52:48, Emily Royson brought the ball up the pitch from the Duke box and sent a pass to Cooper, who then found Olivia Migli just outside the box on the left side. Migli drove into the box and fired a left-footed shot that looked like it was going into the back corner of the net, but was redirected by a Pitt defender and into the goal to give Duke a 1-0 advantage.
•   Duke had another excellent chance at a goal in the 70th minute as Carina Lageyre took a pass from Maggie Graham and had a good look at the goal, but her shot sailed just over the crossbar.
•   Pittsburgh tried to get the equalizer in the final two minutes as Samiah Phiri and Landy Mertz had shots that went off the crossbar, but the Blue Devils were able to clear the final attempt away.
•   Duke and Pittsburgh finished with a 9-9 ledger in shots for the match as the Blue Devils outshot the Panthers, 6-5, in the second half.

Notes
•   With the victory, Duke improved to 5-1 on the season in ACC play, which is tied for first along with Florida State.
•   Mackenzie Pluck played in her 97th career match, which is tied with Laura Weinberg and Natasha Anasi for the most matches played at Duke over a career.
•   Olivia Migli collected her first goal of the season and 11th of her career.
•   Michelle Cooper has now registered a point in 23-of-30 career matches as a Blue Devil.
•   Duke moved to 53-10-7 at home at Koskinen Stadium since 2017.
•   Over her last five matches, Migli owns three assists and one goal.
•   The Blue Devils improved to 7-0 all-time against Pittsburgh.
•   Duke reached the 10-win mark for the third straight season and seventh time out of the last eight years.
•   Cooper now owns 54 points through her sophomore season to collect the Duke record for most points through a freshman/sophomore season for the Blue Devils. She passed Caitlin Connolly (53).
•   Goalkeeper Ruthie Jones notched her 22nd career shutout as a Blue Devil.

Quotes
"It was a must. Once we lost that game to Virginia, we had to come back and win this game. We had given away three games on our home field this year. I was really very proud of the girls and how we fought. In both games [this week], there were some really good and long stretches of good soccer. But then in both games there were some letdowns, some giveaways, we didn't keep possession at times and we didn't score enough goals to where we break their spirits. It is something we have to continue work on."   – Duke head coach Robbie Church on getting the win on Sunday

"Michelle sent an awesome ball across. I had tons of space and kind of just saw the goal and just thought I would take a shot. Luckily, it took a good bounce and went in." -- Duke junior Olivia Migli on the game winner

Next Match
Duke will hit the road for a matchup in Tallahassee, Fla., on Thursday, Oct. 13 at 6 p.m., against third-ranked Florida State. The contest will be aired live on the ACC Network.

To stay up to date with Blue Devils women's soccer, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeWSOC".

#GoDuke