LINCOLN, Nebraska – Three different players scored their first goals for the Duke women’s soccer team on Thursday as the Blue Devils recorded a 3-0 road victory at Nebraska, played at Hibner Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.
A few transfers – Ella Rabbit And Farrah Walters – scored the first two goals, while My Minestrella scored her first college goal in the second half to help Duke to the win. Mia Oliaro contributed two assists, while the goalkeeper in his fifth year Leah Freeman finished the season with a save after 90 minutes as goalkeeper, achieving her 23rd career shutout.
Duke improved to 1-1-0, while Nebraska fell to 1-2-0.
How it happened
- Duke had a good chance to score in the first three minutes as a sophomore Mia Oliaro sent a jumping doctoral student a perfect cross Maggie Grahambut her header went just wide to the right.
- Junior Farrah Walters She then managed to break past the Cornhuskers’ defense, but her shot was blocked by Nebraska goalkeeper Cece Villa after five minutes.
- Oliaro came into action just over a minute later when she fired a shot that was also blocked. Duke attempted the first three shots of the game.
- After an early attack, Duke was rewarded for his efforts when Oliaro entered the box from the right and sent a wonderful cross where the fifth-grader Ella Hare was there for her first goal as a Blue Devil in the 13th minute.
- Hase, a native of Orland Park, Illinois, hit the underside of the crossbar and then the inside of the net with her right foot, scoring her 15th career goal.
- Duke remained on offense for most of the first half and had numerous excellent scoring opportunities.
- At the end of the first half, Duke had an 11-5 shot advantage over Walters, Junior Carina Lageyre and Juniors Kat Rader They led the Blue Devils with two goals each.
- Nebraska came out in the second half and converted the first shot, but Duke’s goalkeeper Leah Freeman was there to rescue.
- Duke doubled its lead in the 69th minute when Lageyre received the ball in midfield, ran down the middle of the field and made a beautiful pass to Walters, who put the ball in the net to give the Blue Devils a 2-0 lead.
- Walters is from Scottsdale, Arizona and scored her 12th career goal and her first as a Blue Devil.
- Duke took a 3-0 lead after 76:25 minutes when Rader found Oliaro on the right side of the field and shot a long ball from the baseline in front of the goal, where the sophomore My Minestrella waited for a header into the net.
- It was Minestrella’s first college goal in the 18th game of her career.
Notes
- Fifth year Ella Rabbit was her first start at Duke and the 68th of her college career at Duke and Northwestern.
- In the last 10 games since last year, it was only the second goal in the first half for the Blue Devils (Virginia Tech by Phoebe Goldthwaite on 29.10.23).
- Duke’s three goals were the most for the Blue Devils since the 2022 season against Radford on Nov. 12 in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
- Fifth year Leah Freeman This was her sixth shutout as a Blue Devil and the 23rd of her career.
- In the game, Duke had a shot advantage of 20-6.Kat Rader led Duke by five shots, a season high, while Farrah Walters set a season record with four tries.
- Junior Elle Piper missed the competition after suffering an injury in the season opener.
- First semester Maria Lange did not travel with the Blue Devils because she is training with the U.S. U-17 national team in California.
Quotes
- “I’m really, really proud of the girls. I thought the energy and passion we played with was fantastic. I thought we had the edge for most of the game. The second goal took a little while, but what a great goal. I just thought we played really well overall, especially in the second half.” – Duke Head Coach Robbie Church
- “Let’s talk about our goal scorers – three of them are first-rounders for Duke University. Two brand new players who came in this year and scored goals, and that’s why we recruited them. Then My Minestrella had some problems last year and had some injuries. She worked so hard over the summer. I’m so happy to see her scoring goals.” – Duke head coach Robbie Church
- “Hannah (Bebar) and Carina (Lageyre), what a duo, those two in the midfield. I think they’re one of the best (duos) in the country.” – Duke head coach Robbie Church
Next game
- Duke returns home to open a five-game home series, with the first game coming on Thursday, August 29th at 7 p.m. against UNC Wilmington at Koskinen Stadium. The game will be broadcast live on ACCNX.
To stay up to date with Blue Devils women’s soccer, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching for “https://goduke.com/news/2024/8/22/DukeWSOC.”
Duke’s centenary
In 2024, Duke will celebrate its centennial, the 100th anniversary of the transformation of Trinity College into Duke University. Duke will use this historic milestone to deepen understanding of its history, inspire pride and strengthen bonds and partnerships, and prepare for a second century of sustained excellence and influential leadership. For more information, visit 100.duke.edu
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