DURHAM, N.C. – In the first ACC match in the Louisville and Duke series, the Blue Devils and Cardinals battled to a 0-0 double-overtime draw, following 120 minutes of action at Koskinen Stadium in Durham, N.C. 

 

With the tie, Duke drops to 6-5-1 overall and 2-1-1 in ACC play, while Louisville is now 4-5-2, 1-1-2.

 

“I thought Louisville played really well,” said Duke head coach Robbie Church. “You could see it in their warmups.  I thought they were committed, played hard, scattered us well and doubled us on the ball.  I didn’t think we were as committed in the first half as we needed to be.”

 

Louisville came out very aggressive in the first half and committed four straight fouls before the first corner kick in the 12^th minute by the Cardinals. 

 

Duke was very flat in the first 45 minutes and didn’t connect on its first shot until the 18^th minute off the leg of freshman Imani Dorsey.  Louisville featured a great chance at the 30:41 mark as Chatham Deprospo placed a perfect corner kick to the head of Erin Yenny.  Yenny headed the shot towards the right post, but Dorsey was there to head away the attempt. 

 

The best scoring chance for the Blue Devils in the first half came from the combination of sophomore Krysia Sikora and senior Katie Trees.  Sikora made a great run down the right side and centered a perfect ball to Trees.  A two sport student-athlete at Duke, Trees headed it at the left post, but Cardinal keeper Paige Brown somehow was able to come up with the save to keep the score knotted at 0-0. 

 

At the end of the first half, Louisville held a 5-4 advantage in shots. 

 

“I was really happy with how we responded in the second half,” commented Church.  “I thought we were aggressive, focused and had them pinned down.  There are always key moments in the game and when you get those key moments you have to finish those things.  We had a stretch for about 5-10 minutes, but we didn’t finish it.  We have to keep getting better for the whole 90 minutes in this league.”

 

Duke came out in the second half and attempted the first five shots of the stanza, including two by Dorsey in the first seven minutes of the half.  Louisville was held to only two shots over the final 45 minutes of regulation. 

 

Blue Devil sophomore Christina Gibbons featured some excellent footwork in the 79^th minute to find herself at the 15-yard mark in front of the goal.  A native of Raleigh, N.C., Gibbons used her right foot for a shot that just slipped outside the left post. 

 

Duke held an 11-7 lead in shots heading into the first overtime.  The Blue Devils thought they ended the contest just a minute and 29 seconds into Duke’s first overtime match of the season, but sophomore Toni Payne’s wide open shot sailed just over the crossbar. 

 

Neither team had any excellent scoring chances in the second overtime and finished the match with Duke outshooting Louisville, 15-8.  Both senior Kelly Cobb and Dorsey led Duke with three shots each. 

 

The Blue Devils collected their sixth shutout of the season led by redshirt junior Ali Kershner in goal, who netted one save. 

 

Duke will next travel to Clemson Thursday, Oct. 9 for a 7:00 p.m., contest. 

 

#GoDuke