NC State Falls to #9 Duke

RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State women’s soccer team dropped its first match in four contests, falling to No. 9 Duke 3-1 Sunday night at Dail Soccer Stadium. The Wolfpack moves to 9-4-1 (3-2-1 ACC), while Duke improves to 10-2-2 (5-0-1 ACC).

Duke squeaked out a 15-14 shot advantage and held an 11-8 advantage in shots on goal, while the Pack posted a 9-4 advantage in corner kicks. The Pack played the top-10 opponent close and created scoring chances, but was beaten by clinical counter attack finishing.

Kia Rankin scored the Pack’s goal for her fourth of the year, and Ricarda Walkling earned a team-leading fifth assist of the year. Both move to 11 points on the year, pulling them level in a four-way tie for the team lead.

Match Recap:

Duke took a 1-0 lead after it was awarded and converted a penalty in the 27th minute. Following the penalty, NC State had a penalty saved then another shot tipped over the bar in the 38th minute to keep the Pack off the score sheet.

Just 1:45 before the halftime whistle, Duke found space on a counter attack and strung together some solid passes to score again. The 2-0 advantage at the half gave Duke a huge momentum swing going into the break.

NC State came out firing in the second half and nearly found the scoresheet twice. Tziarra King took off on a breakaway and weaved between Duke defenders to get off a shot, but her attempt was stopped by an exceptional diving save from the Duke goalkeeper.

On the ensuing corner, Walkling got the ball at the top of the box and beamed a shot toward the top left corner. A leaping Duke defender headed the ball off the line to once again keep NC State from scoring.

Following NC State’s flurry of shots, Duke broke away on the counter attack. After an initial save by Sydney Wootten, Duke found the rebound and hit the ball into the net from close range to take a 3-0 lead.

The Wolfpack finally broke through in the 68th minute. Walkling received the ball at the top of the box and sent a ball through the middle of the box. On the way through, Rankin redirected the ball and sent it into the back of the net for her fourth goal of the season, while Walkling tallied a team-leading fifth assist of the year.

Duke did well to drain the clock the rest of match, as the Pack was unable to crack the Blue Devils’ defensive line again.

Up Next:

NC State faces another top-10 opponent, as it welcomes No. 2 Florida State to Dail Soccer Stadium Saturday at 3 p.m.