Lynch’s Goal Pushes Duke into Semifinals of ACC Championship with 1-0 Win Against Louisville

Sunday, November 2

Durham, N.C.

6 p.m.

Duke University

13-3-1, 7-3-0

Louisville (Quarterfinals)

13-4-2, 6-2-2

Louisville

Duke

Devin Lynch, Elle Piper, Mia Minestrella

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Lynch’s Goal Pushes Duke into Semifinals of ACC Championship with 1-0 Win Against Louisville

11/2/2025 9:39:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Photo Gallery Kieran Hall Interview Caroline Dysart Interview Devin Lynch Interview

DURHAM, N.C. – Senior Devin Lynch scored in the 12th minute and that was all third-seeded and 10th-ranked Duke women's soccer needed Sunday evening on Freeman Field at Koskinen Stadium as the Blue Devils defeated sixth-seeded and 21st-ranked Louisville, 1-0, in the quarterfinals of the ACC Championship.

Lynch, a product of Naperville, Ill., finished a perfect pass from Mia Oliaro at the 11:56 mark and the Duke defense was solid all night collecting its eighth clean sheet of the season. Sophomore Caroline Dysart was excellent in goal finishing the evening with three saves over 90 minutes, including two key stops in the second half.

Duke advances to face second-seeded Notre Dame Thursday, Nov. 6 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. The time as yet to be announced. The Blue Devils advanced to the semifinals of the ACC Championship in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the 2004 and 2005 campaigns.

With the win, Duke improved to 13-3-1, while Louisville fell to 13-4-2.

How It Happened

After trading a shot each to open the contest, the Blue Devils got on the board at the 11:56 mark as redshirt junior Elle Piper took the ball at midfield and passed to junior Mia Oliaro.Oliaro drove down the pitch and served a perfect ball to a streaking senior Devin Lynch, who used her right foot to place it into the far corner of the net to give Duke a 1-0 advantage.
Louisville came back less than three minutes later and hit the crossbar as Emerson Jennings got in front of the Blue Devil defense and had a one-v-one chance with Duke goalkeeper Carolina Dysart.
At the end of the first half, Duke held a 7-5 shot advantage.Freshman Avery Oder and senior Carina Lageyre led the way with two attempts each.
Duke featured the best chance of the second half as junior Mia Minestrella fired a left-footed, bending shot that went off the crossbar and was cleared by the Cardinal at the 59:05 mark.
The Cardinals came back with a wide-open shot at the top of the box, but Dysart was there to make the diving stop.
Duke's defense remained solid the entire half as the Cardinals outshot the Blue Devils, 10-2.
For the match, Louisville held a 15-9 shot advantage.

Notes

Duke advanced to the semifinals of the ACC Championship for the 18th time in program history.
Devin Lynch totaled her fifth goal of the season and 12th over the last two years. She has scored or assisted eight out of the last nine contests.
Mia Oliaro's assist in the first half gave her 10 on the season. She became just the second Blue Devil to total 10 or more assists in back-to-back years joining Ella Stevens (2017 & 2018). Oliaro now owns 23 assists in her career to rank tied for sixth on Duke's all-time charts.
Louisville's goal allowed in the first half was only the second given up by the Cardinals in the first half over the last six contests.They had not given up any first half goals over the last five.The Cardinal had given up only six goals in the first half in 18 regular season matches.
The Blue Devils tied a season low with nine shots.
Duke snapped a streak of scoring two or more goals in eight matches in a row.
Caroline Dysart totaled her seventh shutout of the season as she finished with three saves in 90 minutes.
Duke is now 5-3 this season against ranked opponents.

Quotes

"Yeah, really pleased! Really pleased because we coped with a challenge that was different to what we faced and I felt we did really well. [We] definitely don't want these to happen over and over again. We want to be a little bit more in control, but like I said, we showed that we have an ability to defend well and resolute when needed."-- Duke head coach Kieran Hall
"I mean, it's definitely not exactly how we thought the game would go, but we fought, we fought through it and I'm really proud of everyone's performance."-- Duke senior Devin Lynch

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