No. 2 Duke Continues to Roll, Defeats No. 25 Virginia, 3-1

Thursday, October 3

Durham, N.C.

7 p.m.

Duke University

8-1-0, 3-0-0

Virginia

8-4-0, 1-4-0

Virginia

Duke

Photo by: Duke Athletics

No. 2 Duke Continues to Roll, Defeats No. 25 Virginia, 3-1

10/3/2024 10:26:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Oliaro Interview Church Interview Photo Gallery

DURHAM, N.C. – The second-ranked Duke women's soccer team collected its eighth-straight victory Thursday evening at Koskinen Stadium as the Blue Devils registered a 3-1 win over 25th-ranked Virginia in ACC action.

Duke held a 1-0 lead at the half off a goal by Farrah Walters, while Mia Oliaro and Devin Lynch added second half tallies for the victory. The Blue Devils moved to 8-1-0 overall and 3-0-0 in ACC play, while the Cavaliers dropped to 8-4-0, 1-4-0.

How It Happened

At the 6:56 mark of the match, the Cavaliers had an excellent chance at a goal as Allie Ross was open in front, but her shot went just wide right.
The Blue Devils came right back and got on the board as graduate student Maggie Graham sent a long ball down the middle of the pitch where junior Farrah Walters beat her defender and Cavalier goalkeeper Victoria Safradin to the ball.Walters, a native of Scottsdale, Ariz., was able to punch the ball away from the goalkeeper and used her left foot to hit the bottom right of the open goal at the 8:12 mark.
In the 16th minute, Duke sophomore Mia Oliaro sent a beautiful cross into the box to a leaping junior Devin Lynch, who's shot went just right of the post.
Virginia had a solid chance in the 35th minute as Yuna McCormack fired a shot at the goal, but Duke keeper Leah Freeman was there for the save.
At the half, Virginia outshot Duke, 7-6, and the Blue Devils were held without a corner kick.
The Blue Devils came out quickly in the second half and went ahead, 2-0.Lynch fed fifth year Ella Hase, who drove down the edge of the box and crossed a perfect ball to Oliaro.A product of Chapel Hill, N.C., Oliaro headed in her third goal of the season at the 47:47 mark.
Duke added another goal in the 65th minute as Oliaro used her right foot to send in a cross from the right side of the pitch where Lynch was there to head in her fourth goal of the season to give the Blue Devils a 3-0 lead.
Virginia added a goal at the 79:24 mark to cut into the Duke lead, 3-1.Meredith McDermott headed a ball off a corner kick from Linda Mittermair.
The Blue Devils finished the match with a 13-10 advantage in shots.The 10 shots allowed were a season high.Duke limited Virginia to only three second half attempts.

Notes

Duke has scored a goal in the first half of eight straight matches, which tied for the second-longest streak in program history.
Farrah Walters connected on her third goal of the season and 19th of her collegiate career.
For the first time this season, Duke was outshot in the first half, 7-6.
The goal at the 47:47 mark of the second half was the second-quickest goal of second half this season.
Duke collected its fifth-straight match with three or more goals, which tied a school record (1990).
Devin Lynch has scored or assisted in five straight matches.
Maggie Graham tallied a career-high two assists on the night and has scored or assisted in six out of the last seven matches.
Ella Hase posted her team-best sixth assist of the season. She has posted a goal or assist in five straight matches.
The Duke defense allowed only its third goal of the season in the second half.
The three goals by the Blue Devils were the most scored against the Cavaliers in the series since 2012 (3).It was also the first win at home against Virginia since 2016.
For only the sixth time in program history, Duke opened ACC action with a 3-0 record.
Fifth year goalkeeper Leah Freeman played the entire 90 minutes and finished with four saves for the second-straight contest.

Quotes

"This was a big time win for us. This is a big time win.We have played a good schedule. Virginia was a different team that we have seen, we knew we would be out of possession.They keep the ball really well, and they kept the ball more than anybody has on us all year. But as you look at, I think 67 percent -- what we wanted to do was absorb the pressure and then go forward and play forward as quickly as we can. That's what we did, and that's where a lot of our goals came off the counter. We're pretty dangerous. We can keep the ball and play through the middle. We can play through the wings. We can play through the wings with it too. So, we can strike from many different areas."-- Duke head coach Robbie Church
"Our whole team has just been playing so well. We've been fighting so hard, and it comes down to just how we've been moving the ball. We all trust one another and we just want to see each other succeed. So, having people put me in great positions to score has really been a key and just having that motivation to just come out and get the next and the next, and the next. We never stop. We've been really relentless and really just working hard as a collective. So, I think my teammates are just putting me in great spots and I've been lucky to finish a few of them two games in a row."-- Duke sophomore Mia Oliaro

Next Match

Duke closes a three-match homestand Sunday, Oct. 6 as the Blue Devils host Louisville at 1 p.m., live on ACC Network Extra.It will mark alumnx weekend as Duke will welcome back numerous former student-athletes back to campus.

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

Duke Centennial
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