Duke junior Kayla McCoy pushed the ball down field with no defender close enough to stop her. It was the eighth minute of the game when McCoy sent the ball across the net and bounced off the right post. The ball ricocheted toward the top of the net only to fall to the ground, giving the Blue Devils an early lead.

It was a lead Duke would never give up as Syracuse (7-8-2, 2-6-1 Atlantic Coast) fell to No. 4 Duke (16-1, 9-0) on Sunday afternoon at SU Soccer Stadium. The loss officially eliminates the Orange from ACC Playoff contention. Syracuse’s defense was unable to contain Duke’s aggressive offense led by McCoy.

“Duke is a very good, organized team,” SU head coach Phil Wheddon said. “Their back four is very athletic, their midfield is very athletic and they track back.”

Duke totaled 15 shots, nine of which landed on goal. McCoy led the Blue Devils with four shots and the only two goals of the game. Her second came late in the first half after Imani Dorsey slipped a cross-field pass to McCoy. She sent the ball to SU goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan’s left side and into the back of the net.

“As a goalkeeper,” Brosnan said, “Phil always tells me you have to have a really short memory. You’re going to let in goals sometimes but you just have to forget about it and move on to the next play, keep your head in the game and do what you can in that moment to keep us going forward.”

Brosnan inched toward the school’s all-time saves record due to Duke’s constant attack. Her seven saves put her one away from tying the record of 331 saves, held by Eliza Bennett-Hattan.

About 12 minutes into the game, both teams battled for possession at midfield. Duke took possession and passed the ball to Duke’s Morgan Reid. She dribbled to the top of the box before shooting toward the far side of the net. Brosnan dove to her left and stopped the ball from entering the goal.

Throughout the first half, Duke controlled the tempo of the game. SU’s defense struggled to contain, letting up nine of the 15 total shots in that frame.

“Our communication was low in the first half,” senior Jessica Vigna said. “I know a bunch of us were getting pulled out of our defensive shape which was difficult.”

Though Syracuse started to adapt in the second half, creating more offensive opportunities, the Orange were unable to capitalize. At one point late in the second half, senior Alana O’Neil ripped a shot far side. But it missed the net and flew out of bounds.

“I challenged the team to come out in the second half,” Wheddon said, “and really put together a performance they could be proud of. What do you want to be remembered by from the fans that are watching you right now?”

Published on October 22, 2017 at 5:27 pm

Contact Kaci: klwasile@syr.edu