September 25, 2016
No. 19 Tech falls to No. 7 Duke
The Hokies dropped a 4-0 decision to the Blue Devils on Sunday afternoon
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(7) Duke (7-2-2) 224
(19) Virginia Tech (8-4) 000
  • Thompson Field - 913

BLACKSBURG – The No. 19 Virginia Tech women’s soccer team dropped a 4-0 decision to NCAA runner-up No. 7 Duke, on Sunday, at Thompson Field.

Duke’s junior forward Imani Dorsey netted two of the Blue Devils’ (7-2-2, 2-0-1) four goals. The Hokies (8-4-0, 0-3) applied pressure through 90 minutes of play, tallying 13 shots, but could not seem to connect on a flurry of opportunities late in the second half.

In the 59th minute, senior forward Murielle Tiernan passed a through ball inside the 18 to freshman midfielder Lilly Weber. Weber headed the ball toward the net, as Duke’s junior goalkeeper EJ Proctor got her hands on the ball, punching it out of bounds. The header developed into a corner kick for the Hokies, which resulted in multiple chances.

Senior defender Christina Gibbons scored the Blue Devils’ first goal in the 13th minute, as she was awarded a penalty kick after a yellow card was issued to freshman goalkeeper Mandy McGlynn inside the 18-yard box. Gibbons stood tall and placed the ball far right post past an outstretched McGlynn.

Two minutes later, freshman midfielder Ella Stevens found Dorsey for her first goal of the game in the 15th minute. Stevens took the ball down the right side of the pitch, as Dorsey shot a line drive from the right corner of the field to place the ball over McGlynn’s hands to go far left post.

Fresh out of the locker room, Stevens scored her fourth goal of the season 30 seconds into the second half off a rebounded shot from Dorsey. Dorsey blasted a shot toward the net, as McGlynn recorded a save on the play. The ball bounced back out to Stevens, as she turned around and placed the ball far right post passed a diving McGlynn.

Dorsey then scored the Blue Devils’ fourth and final goal of the night in the 61st minute. Payne crossed the ball inside the penalty box to a waiting Dorsey, recording her second goal on the day.

Proctor earned the clean sheet with three saves, McGlynn tallied four saves in her 12th start with the Hokies.

HEAD COACH CHUGGER ADAIR QUOTES

“It was a foul (on the penalty kick). I don’t know if it was in the box, but it was a penalty, and now we are chasing the game. Next thing, we gave up a bad goal off the cross. I thought we played well going forward, but not consistently enough.”

“I think they did a better job combining than before. They played well with one another, and that made them dangerous. They had good speed that we couldn’t deal with.”

“We didn’t do a good job on connecting passes. We were a little bit anxious at times. Murielle (Tiernan) had a good chance early that we didn’t get. We had a header that was saved and another ball cleared off the line. It’s the same story. We are not putting our chances away that could make the game closer. They grinded it out in the 18 and we didn’t.”

NOTES

Duke now owns a 10-4-1 all-time series edge over Tech, defeating the Hokies in Blacksburg for the first time since 2012 … Sophomore midfielder Kristina Diana paced the team with three shots, as senior midfielder Candace Cephers, Tiernan and Weber each tallied one shot on-goal.

NEXT UP

The Hokies return to Thompson Field on Saturday, Oct. 1, as they will kick against No. 9 Clemson at 7 p.m. Links for live stats and video are available at HokieSports.com.

Saturday’s match falls on National Cookie Day and admission is free, as the team will give away free cookies to the first 200 fans at the game.

FOLLOW ALONG

Fans can follow all the action during each match of the 2016 season by following the squad on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

For updates on Virginia Tech women's soccer, follow the Hokies on Twitter

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