Once Again, Duke and Louisville Play to Scoreless Draw

 

Sept. 22, 2016

 

DURHAM, N.C. — For the fourth straight time in four matches, Duke and Louisville battled 110 minutes and finished without a goal in Thursday’s ACC match in Durham, N.C.  The sixth-ranked Blue Devils outshot the Cardinals, 31-9, but couldn’t get anything in the back of the net.

 

The two squads have played a total of 440 minutes in the series and have yet to score a goal.  With the draw, both teams move to 6-2-2 overall and 1-0-1 in league action.

 

The first half was dominated by the Blue Devils as Duke maintained possession for most of the first 45 minutes, while holding a 12-2 shot advantage.  Junior Ashton Miller featured a team-high three attempts.

 

Of the 12 shots for the Blue Devils, only one came inside the 18.  That one was Duke’s best scoring chance of the evening so far.  Following a foul by the Cardinals, Miller stepped up and sent a perfect pass to a leaping junior Imani Dorsey, but her header slipped high over the crossbar. 

 

A total of eight different Duke players attempted shots in the first half.

 

In the first shot of the second half, senior Christina Gibbons found Dorsey, but her left-footed attempt went high at the 47:34 mark.

 

Louisville’s Brooklynn Rivers featured its best opportunity in the 55^th minute, after jumping in front of a Duke defender and sending a shot just past the far post. 

 

In a flurry of shots by the Blue Devils in a span of less than a minute, Duke nearly got on the board in the 71^st minute.  Senior Toni Payne had a shot blocked and then a cross in front of the goal led to a sliding Taylor Racioppi’s shot in point-blank range that went off the Cardinal keeper Taylor Bucklin’s knee and out.  It led to a corner kick and freshman Olivia Erlbeck launched a shot that went wide. 

 

A free kick by Erlbeck from 23 yards in the 79^th minute went wide right.

 

At the end of regulation, Duke held a 24-6 lead in shots with Dorsey leading the way with five attempts. 

 

Duke had five shots in the first overtime, which included two in a row by senior Lizzy Raben and Dorsey that were blocked.  Junior Schuyler DeBree and junior Casey Martinez also added attempts that were high. 

 

Both teams fired two shots in the second overtime, before finishing in a 0-0 draw in 110 minutes.  Dorsey registered a team-best six shots, while Miller added five.  Eleven different Blue Devils notched shots on the evening.

 

Junior goalkeeper EJ Proctor finished the match with five saves over 110 minutes and collected her fourth shutout of the season.  A product of Wilson, N.C., Proctor now owns 15 career shutouts, which moves her into fifth on Duke’s all-time charts. 

 

Duke will hit the road for only its second true road match of the season Sunday, Sept. 25 as the Blue Devils travel to Blacksburg, Va., to face Virginia Tech at 4 p.m.

 

#GoDuke

 

Notes:

• Duke played its first match without sophomore Kayla McCoy, who tore her Achilles in the last match versus Boston College.