Minestrella Scores; Blue Devils Draw, 1-1, with California

Saturday, October 3

Durham, N.C.

5 p.m.

Duke University

6-1-4, 1-1-3

California

4-4-5, 1-2-2

Team	1	2	Final F
California	1	0	1
Duke	0	1	1

Photo by: Peter Raider, Duke Athletics

Minestrella Scores; Blue Devils Draw, 1-1, with California

10/3/2026 8:25:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score Photo Gallery

DURHAM, N.C. – Duke women's soccer senior Mia Minestrella registered her team-leading 11th goal of the season as the sixth-ranked Blue Devils came from behind to draw, 1-1, with California Saturday evening at Freeman Field at Koskinen Stadium in Durham.

Minestrella collected her 41st career goal to move only six goals away from tying Duke's all-time mark, with five regular-season matches remaining. The Blue Devils collected their third consecutive draw to move to 6-1-4 overall and 1-1-3 in the ACC. California is now 4-4-5, 1-2-2 in league play.

How It Happened

Duke attempted the first shot of the match at the 9:45 mark off the leg of senior Mia Oliaro, which was saved by California goalkeeper Alyssa Savig.
The Blue Devils had a great look shortly after as Oliaro served a ball into the box where senior Mia Minestrella headed it in front of the goal, but sophomore Avery Oder wasn't able to time her shot on the attempt before the Cal keeper grabbed the ball.
With just about seven minutes remaining in the half, redshirt sophomore Lauren Martinho created a turnover and Minestrella took the ball toward the box where she found a wide-open Oliaro. A product of Chapel Hill, Oliaro tried to get a shot off, but Savig made a diving save to redirect the attempt.
California struck first at the 40:14 mark as Reese Doherty sent a long pass down the left side of the pitch to Elhom Khursand, who drove into the box and hit the top-left corner to give Cal a 1-0 lead.
At the end of the first half, Duke held a 7-4 lead in shots with Oliaro leading the way with three.
Early in the second half, Oliaro fired a right-footed shot that the keeper saved and a Cal defender was able to clear off the line. The clearance came to Minestrella, whose point-blank attempt went high over the crossbar.
The Blue Devils continued to pressure the California goal but couldn't get anything between the posts. Senior Phoebe Goldthwaite had a good look in the 58th minute but went just wide right.
Redshirt junior Sam Courtwright got free in the box at the 60:35 mark, but her attempt was saved by Savig. Off the corner kick, Goldthwaite and sophomore Daya King attempted shots, but both were blocked.
Oder took the ball into the box in the 63rd minute, but her shot went just outside the left post.
The Blue Devils finally were able to get on the board at the 68:36 mark as Courtwright and sophomore Lexi Coughlin found Minestrella in the box. A product of Redondo Beach, California, Minestrella took one touch, curled around a defender and registered her team-leading 11th goal of the year to even the score, 1-1.
Duke had more good looks, including Oliaro with a header that went just wide with less than seven minutes remaining.
Sophomore Jocelyn Travers fired a shot in the 87th minute that went wide.
Duke finished the match with a 25-6 advantage in shots, including an 18-2 advantage in the second half.

Notes

Katie Shea Collins missed the contest due to injury.
Duke allowed only its second goal in the first half this season.
The Blue Devils failed to score in the first half for the third consecutive game.
Mia Oliaro registered a career-high seven shots over 90 minutes.
Sophomore Molly Vapensky finished the match with zero saves over 90 minutes.
Mia Minestrella now owns 41 career goals to move into sole possession of second on Duke's all-time goals scored list and 98 points, which ranks third. She needs two points to become the third Blue Devil to reach the 100-point mark.
Duke's 13 corner kicks were a season high.
Sam Courtwright notched her team-best seventh assist on the night.
The Blue Devils recognized alumni at halftime that were in attendance at alumni weekend.

Quotes

"Yeah, I think it's a soccer game. I felt like in the first half we were actually good. Felt like we could have been better. Felt like we were in control of the game and we were playing the game in the way that we wanted it to be played. They pulled us out in transition and scored and that's what happens in soccer. But we need to do better at stopping those things. We know that's a way that teams can hurt us when we're dominant in possession with the ball. So, that was disappointing. But the second half was unbelievable. I challenged them at halftime to be better, bring the level up. I felt in the second half, 18 shots, really dominant performance in the second half. It's just really unfortunate that we couldn't finish the chances." -- Duke head coach Kieran Hall

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