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DURHAM, N.C. - In one of the biggest matches of head coach Robbie Church's three years at Duke, the 10th-ranked Blue Devils came through with a 1-0 victory over 19th-ranked Maryland on Halloween night at Koskinen Stadium in Durham, N.C.
With the victory, Duke improves to 12-5-1 overall and 4-3 in the ACC, while Maryland falls to 9-7-1, 2-5. With two matchups remaining in ACC action on Saturday-- N.C. State at Wake Forest and Virginia at Clemson-- the seedings are not finalized for the ACC Championships, which begin on Nov. 5 in Cary, N.C. Duke is guaranteed to finish no lower than fourth in the league, which is the best finish in league play under Church.
"We really came to play tonight for our three seniors," said Church. "I thought we penetrated and ran well in the first half. The only thing we didn't do well in the first half was to score two or three more goals and we really should have. We just didn't quite put the ball in the net. This is a phenomenal win for us tonight."
Duke's lone goal came in the ninth minute of action as sophomore Carolyn Ford sent a free kick into the box, which was heading for senior Gwendolyn Oxenham. Oxenham went up for the ball and was met by a Maryland defender. The ball settled in front of freshman Darby Kroyer and the San Ramon, Calif., product punched it in the left corner of the net by Maryland goalkeeper Kristen Barnhill. The goal for Kroyer was her fourth of the season and a team-best second against ACC opponents.
"We talked about how Maryland has scored a lot of goals early," said Church. "It was very important for us to score early and get the momentum. It was a great finish by Darby as the ball didn't get cleared very well. For her to step in the gap and be able to finish it, was outstanding."
The Blue Devils dominated play in the first half outshooting the Terrapins 7-2 and the offense kept the ball on their side of the field for most of the stanza.
In the second half, Maryland came out firing as the Terrapins outshot Duke 6-4 and had many chances in front of the goal, but couldn't capitalize. For the game, Duke outshot Maryland, 11-8.
"I thought Maryland did a good job in the second half," said Church. "They changed their formation and created some problems for us. I thought we controlled most of the game, but we just couldn't find the same rhythm in the second half as we did in the first half."
On senior night, Duke senior goalkeeper Thora Helgadottir played big for the Blue Devils collecting four saves and picking up her 16th career shutout, which is second on Duke's career charts. In honor of four great years at Duke, the Iceland National Anthem was played for the Kopavogur, Iceland native prior to the game.
The shutout for Duke is the third in ACC action and eighth of the season, including the past two matches in a row. Heading into the ACC Championship on Nov. 5, 7 and 9th at the SAS Stadium Complex, the Blue Devils have allowed only two goals over the last five contests.
The Blue Devils honored senior's Helgadottir, Oxenham and Kelly Harris prior to the game as it was their final regular season home contest at Duke.
"The seniors mean a lot to our program both on and off the field," said Church. "I am happy that we have had a terrific year for these seniors. The team dedicated this game to them tonight and I thought it was an outstanding effort."
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