No. 19 Duke Falls Short at Top-Ranked Virginia, 1-0

Sunday, September 27

Charlottesville, Va.

2:00 PM

Duke University

6-3-3, 0-1-2ACC

Virginia

8-1-1, 2-1-0ACC

Duke University

#1/1 Virginia

No. 19 Duke Falls Short at Top-Ranked Virginia, 1-0

9/27/2015 4:33:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

By: Duke Sports Information

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The 19th-ranked Duke women's soccer team traveled to Charlottesville, Va., Sunday looking to upset No. 1 Virginia, but the Blue Devils fell to the Cavaliers by a score of 1-0 at Klockner Stadium.

With the defeat, Duke dropped to 6-3-3 (0-1-2 ACC) on the season, while Virginia improved to 8-1-1 (2-1-0).

After a back-and-forth start for both teams, Duke kickstarted the offense for both teams 10 minutes into the match, firing off the first two shots of the game. Duke's freshmen duo of Taylor Racioppi and Kayla McCoy got things started, as Racioppi's shot forced a save by Virginia's Morgan Stearns and McCoy's attempt missed just wide.

Virginia controlled what remained of the first period, holding Duke without a shot and firing eight of its own. The Blue Devil defense held strong, however, blocking each Virginia attempt or forcing it high or wide.

With the scored deadlocked at 0-0, the Cavaliers broke the tie just 10 minutes into the second half. In the 55^th minute, Virginia's Tina Iordanou found teammate Alexis Shaffer in the center of the box, who was able to put it past Duke goalkeeper EJ Proctor for what was ultimately the game winner.

The rest of the match featured each team trading attacks in what was a much more offensive-minded half than the first. Compared to the two shots Duke produced in the opening period, the Blue Devils fired eight shots, while the Cavaliers got off 11 attempts during the final 45 minutes.

McCoy paced Duke's offense with three shots, followed by sophomore Ashton Miller and junior Toni Payne with two apiece and Racioppi and junior Rebecca Quinn with one each. McCoy and Miller also led the squad by each putting two shots on goal.

In goal, Proctor finished the day with two saves for the Blue Devils, while Stearns kept Duke off the board with six saves for the Cavaliers.

Duke returns to Durham to continue conference play Sunday, Oct. 4 by hosting Virginia Tech at 2 p.m. Sunday's match versus the Hokies will be broadcast live on ESPN3.

#GoDuke