TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Duke had the chances to get back into it, and Mia Minestrella did her part, but the fifth-ranked Blue Devils left Florida State with a 2-1 loss Thursday night at 22nd-ranked FSU.
Minestrella scored the 46th goal of her Duke career and moved within one of Kelly Walbert’s program record of 47. Her finish also trimmed an early 2-0 hole after Florida State struck twice in the first half.
Duke dropped to 9-2-4 overall and 4-2-3 in the ACC. Florida State improved to 8-2-3 and 4-1-2.
The Blue Devils opened with a real look in the eighth minute when Phoebe Goldthwaite slipped a pass to Avery Oder on the left side of the box. Oder sent the ball back into danger, and Minestrella’s header was turned away. Duke earned a corner out of the sequence, but Florida State turned the next phase into a quick strike, with Shaneil Buckly racing past the Duke back line and beating Molly Vapensky in a one-on-one in the 10th minute.
Just over two minutes later, the Seminoles doubled the margin. Tanner Strickland finished a corner from Sam Erbach at the 12:47 mark to make it 2-0.
Duke kept pushing. Jocelyn Travers found Minestrella in the box in the 20th minute, and Minestrella spun and fired a left-footed shot that Kate Ockene punched away with a diving stop to her right.
The Blue Devils finally got the breakthrough at the 31-minute mark. Goldthwaite lofted a long ball to the top of the box, where Minestrella, an FSU defender and Ockene all converged. Ockene tried to clear it, but the ball deflected off Minestrella’s leg, and the Redondo Beach, California, native turned and guided it into the empty net.
That goal marked the first time Minestrella has scored against Florida State in two meetings. It also extended a few eye-catching trends: she has now scored against an ACC-best 14 different league opponents and has found the net in 12 of her last 14 road matches.
Duke nearly leveled it late in the half when Mia Oliaro linked up with freshman Rylee McLanahan in the box, but the attempt was blocked in the 43rd minute. Even with the deficit, the Blue Devils controlled the first-half shot count, 7-4, with Minestrella taking three of those attempts.
The second half started with more Duke pressure. Freshman Yuna Marui fired twice in the first 2:06, with one effort saved and the other blocked. Vapensky didn’t log her first save until the 50th minute, when she handled Ryder Ajeto’s shot.
Then Travers nearly delivered the equalizer. In the 51:26 mark, she carried the ball into the box, created space and unleashed a right-footed shot that clanged off the crossbar.
After that, Duke couldn’t generate much else. The Blue Devils took just one shot over the final 38 minutes, and Minestrella was held without a second-half attempt. Duke finished with an 11-8 edge in shots, but the early damage proved too much to erase.
Minestrella’s milestone night moved her to 108 career points, leaving her nine behind Walbert’s Duke record of 117. Phoebe Goldthwaite picked up her fifth assist of the season.
Duke also trailed at halftime for only the second time this year, the other coming against California. And the two first-half goals allowed against Florida State matched the total Duke had surrendered over its first 14 matches combined.
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