Blue Devils Finish with 1-1 Draw at No. 9 UCLA

Sunday, August 16

Los Angeles, CA

9 p.m.

Duke University

1-0-1, 0-0-0

UCLA

0-1-1, 0-0-0

Team	1	2	Final F
Duke	1	0	1
UCLA	0	1	1

Photo by: Peter Raider, Duke Athletics

Blue Devils Finish with 1-1 Draw at No. 9 UCLA

8/17/2026 12:34:00 AM | Women's Soccer

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Duke women's soccer redshirt junior Sam Courtwright scored 2:05 into the match Sunday evening at ninth-ranked UCLA and the third-ranked Blue Devils went on to play to a 1-1 draw at Wallis Annenberg Stadium in Los Angeles.

Duke closed its season-opening road trip to California with a 1-0-1 record and returns home to Durham this week for the first of two straight home contests. Courtwright, who hails from Dallas, Texas, finished her opening two matches in a Blue Devil uniform with one goal and two assists.

How It Happened

For the second match in a row, the Blue Devils struck early as Yuna Marui was taken down just outside the box and Duke was awarded a free kick 20 yards away. Redshirt junior Sam Courtwright blasted a right-footed shot inside the bottom left corner of the goal to give the Blue Devils a 1-0 lead only 2:05 into the match.
Duke sophomore goalkeeper Molly Vapensky collected her first collegiate save at the 8:52 mark on a Bruin shot.
The Blue Devils had a great look at a goal in the 23rd minute as Marui sent a corner kick toward the head of senior Cameron Roller, but the attempt went wide.
At the end of the first half, Duke held a 2-1 advantage in shots.
UCLA was awarded a penalty kick at the 49:06 mark of the second half and evened the score at 1-1 as Oruha Hayashi finished the attempt.
The Blue Devils went down a player at 72:01 as sophomore Jocelyn Travers was awarded a red card.
Vapensky made two key saves down the stretch to preserve the draw.
For the match, Duke was limited to two shots and none in the second half, while UCLA had six.

Notes

Duke has now scored a goal in the first half in 11 of its last 12 matches dating back to last season.
Sam Courtwright totaled her first goal as a Blue Devil and registered her 10th career goal.
Duke goalkeeper Molly Vapensky finished the night with her first three collegiate saves.
The Blue Devils are now 17-2-1 over the past five years in the month of August.

Quotes

"Yeah, extremely pleased. We've flown over all the way to California, playing against two of the top teams in California and in the Big Ten, and it's not easy. And then, especially when playing a man down, it's a real test of character. That's one thing I think we've got in abundance. We have a resilience and mentality that if things don't go well, we are willing to dig in. I think that's a positive sign for things to come." -- Duke head coach Kieran Hall on how team's response after the red card

Next Match

Duke will return home to host FIU Thursday, Aug. 20 at 6 p.m., inside Freeman Field at Koskinen Stadium. It will mark the 2026 home opener for the Blue Devils. Thursday's match will be part of a tripleheader with the men's soccer team as California Baptist will face Campbell at 3 p.m., and Duke will face Seton Hall at 8 p.m.

#GoDuke