No. 3 Duke women’s soccer hangs on to secure 1-0 victory over Creighton

Duke women's soccer rolled to a 4-0 start behind the efforts of Mia Minestrella and freshman Avery Oder.

Sometimes in sports, the final score and the stats tell conflicting stories.

On a gorgeous Sunday afternoon in Koskinen Stadium, Duke (4-0) dominated all aspects of the competition against Creighton (1-4), controlling 72% possession, winning 14 corners and sending 21 shots towards the net, with seven on target. And yet, it took a scrappy second-half goal from freshman striker Avery Oder to secure the lone score for the Blue Devils, who hung on to win 1-0.

“We won 1-0…that’s the only thing that matters,” said Duke head coach Kieran Hall. “Do we want more goals from that sort of territorial advantage and have our shots? Yeah, for sure but we need to get better in that.”

Much of the Blue Devils’ struggles in the final third can be pinpointed to Creighton’s style of play. The Blue Jays parked the bus, sitting in a compact block of 10 players within about 25 yards of their own goal, letting forward Ariana Mondiri roam free and chase after clearances. Perfectly content to see a visit to the number three team in the country end in a draw, Creighton choked out opportunities by forcing Duke to the wings and then winning countless headers in their own box to deny the home team scoring chances.

Facing this style of defense for the first time this season, the Blue Devils failed to create many dangerous openings despite controlling all other aspects of the game.

“When teams sit like that in a low block, we need to just do short, quick passes and try to get them to move,” said Oder on Duke’s strategy. “So Mia [Minestrella] and I were trying to interchange off of the back line, kind of pulling defenders out of place and making runs from behind.”

“In that moment when teams are going to kill space…it’s going to be difficult,” Hall said. “We need to have solutions for that. And today, we didn’t have many, but we had enough.”

The solution came in the 50th minute, when a miscommunication between Blue Jays Tori Gillis and Tejia Murray-Powell saw their clear attempt fall haplessly to the feet of Kat Rader inside the area to the left of the goal. The two-time All-ACC Second teamer niftily avoided the lunging right leg of Gillis before gliding the ball perfectly across the six-yard box to the waiting, unmarked Oder. The freshman’s attempt megged goalie Alyssa Zalac and broke the deadlock, sending a wave of relief across the 744 fans in attendance.

“It was great to finally get a goal,” Oder said after scoring her third goal in four collegiate matches. “We had so many chances…Kat did a great job of getting [to the] end line and cutting the ball across, and I just sprinted near post to tap it in.”

On the defensive side of the ball, Duke did not allow a single shot in the first half and only two in the second, a testament to their effort to shut down the limited counterattacking opportunities Creighton had. The Blue Devils also won most of the aerial duels in their half, with a great example occurring with one minute remaining in the match. A clumsy foul by Madison Foxhoven gifted the Blue Jays a free kick from 40 yards out and a chance to tie the game. But Devin Lynch won the header clear, and Carina Lageyre blocked the follow-up shot from distance as time expired.

The victory completed an excellent weekend for the program, which started on the road with an emotional Thursday night with a top-10 win over Arkansas.

The Blue Devils stay at home and host the Virginia Military Institute Sept. 4, offering an immediate chance to build goalscoring success against a team that will likely sit in a low block. The matchup will provide an excellent opportunity to see how well Duke can learn and adapt under the nascent Coach Hall.