No. 4 Blue Devils Open Exhibition Action with 2-0 Win Versus Wake Forest

Monday, August 7

Durham, N.C.

4:30 p.m.

Duke University

Wake Forest (Exh.)

Photo by: Duke Athletics

No. 4 Blue Devils Open Exhibition Action with 2-0 Win Versus Wake Forest

8/7/2023 8:04:00 PM | Women's Soccer

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DURHAM – The fourth-ranked Duke women's soccer team opened exhibition action Monday afternoon with a 2-0 victory over Wake Forest at Koskinen Stadium.

The Blue Devils received a first half goal from senior Maggie Graham and a second half tally from freshman Mia Minestrella, while Duke's defense held strong, allowing only nine shots.

How It Happened
•   In the first couple of minutes of the match, Duke sophomore Kat Rader got inside the box and attempted a couple of shots, which were blocked and went wide.
•   For Wake Forest's first shot attempt of the match, Nikayla Small blasted a long-range attempt that went off the right post and Duke was able to clear away.
•   The Blue Devils got on the board first as senior Maggie Graham sent a left-footed attempt that bent left to right inside the far post for a 1-0 lead in the 18th minute.
•   Duke had a stretch in the 30th minute where Rader, sophomore Carina Lageyre and Graham all had good looks, but Demon Deacon goalkeeper Madison Howard made three saves.
•   At the half, Duke led 1-0 and held an 8-3 shot advantage.
•   The Blue Devils featured a much-different look in the second half, with everyone else who didn't see action in the first starting the second period.
•   Duke added a second goal on the board in the 52nd minute freshman Mia Minestrella was taken down in the box and the Blue Devils were awarded a penalty kick. Minestrella buried the penalty kick to put Duke ahead, 2-0.
•   Both teams traded shots late, but couldn't find the back of the net.

Notes
•   Sophomore Caroline Duffy and senior transfer Leah Freeman both saw action in 45 minutes in goal and tallied one save each.
•   A total of 21 Blue Devils saw action in the match.
•   Duke closed the match with a 17-9 shot advantage.

Quotes
"I was really happy [with the performance]. I think that's one of our better starts in preseason over the last five, six, seven years or so. I thought we played really well. We took from the training field, the intensity, the work rate, the passion, commitment, and all the tactical stuff that we're trying to do and I thought we saw a lot of it on the field. That's what we were hoping to see. And then again, it was obviously great to have everybody that could play played and saw action in significant minutes and played well. So, now we've got to be able to be consistent. We want to build on this. We go to South Carolina, a team we played deep in the NCAA Tournament last year, on the road Thursday. So, it's going to be a good game away. Now we have to move on and get ready for the Gamecocks." – Duke head coach Robbie Church

Next Match
Duke closes exhibition action Thursday, Aug. 10 at 12th-ranked South Carolina. The match will start at 5 p.m. The Blue Devils host West Virginia on Thursday, Aug. 17 for their season opener at Koskinen Stadium at 7 p.m.

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

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