Duke women’s soccer spent Thursday night absorbing pressure, answering back, and ultimately settling for a 1-1 draw with No. 15 Notre Dame at Freeman Field inside Koskinen Stadium.
Sophomore defender Jocelyn Travers supplied the equalizer for the fourth-ranked Blue Devils, scoring her first goal of the season in the 58th minute. Duke finished its run against three straight top-15 ACC opponents at 6-1-2 overall and 1-1-1 in league play. Notre Dame moved to 4-0-6, 2-0-1.
The Irish came out aggressive from the opening whistle, putting up the first four shots of the match and creating several dangerous looks. Duke had chances of its own, including a strong sequence from junior Katie Shea Collins, who used a fake off a pass from Daya King to drive into the box. Her first shot was blocked, and her follow-up was saved by Notre Dame goalkeeper Sonoma Kasica.
The Blue Devils came closest to opening the scoring in the 11:21 mark when Travers delivered a corner kick perfectly to senior Cameron Roller, whose header bounced off the crossbar. Duke nearly broke through again in the 28th minute when Collins crossed into the box and senior Mia Minestrella got a header toward goal, but Kasica made a one-handed save to keep things level.
Notre Dame had its own threat in the 34th minute when Annabelle Chukwu got loose inside the box and fired, but Roller was in position for the team save. By halftime, the Irish held a 6-5 edge in shots, with Collins accounting for two of Duke’s attempts.
The visitors finally cashed in early in the second half. At 48:45, Bristol Kersh and Izzy Engle connected with Lily Joseph in front of the box, and Joseph muscled past a Duke defender before finishing into the bottom right corner past Blue Devil goalkeeper Molly Vapensky.
Duke answered 10 minutes later. Travers collected the ball outside the box, drove to the 18-yard line and uncorked a left-footed blast that sailed over the Notre Dame keeper and into the top of the net.
The Irish nearly went back in front in the 60th minute when Engle headed a shot off the post, but Duke cleared the danger. Notre Dame kept coming late, taking 13 of the final 16 shots in the match and finishing with a 21-12 advantage overall.
Mia Minestrella and redshirt junior Sam Courtwright each had late looks in the final three minutes, with one shot saved and the other drifting wide.
A few notes from the night: Duke did not score in the first half for only the second time this season, with Old Dominion the other instance. The Blue Devils trailed for only the third time this year, along with games against North Carolina and Old Dominion.
Minestrella’s six-game scoring streak, which tied a school record, came to an end. Duke is now 29-1-3 over the last three years at home.
The Blue Devils’ one goal matched their season low, and Notre Dame’s 21 shots were the most Duke has allowed this season.
Duke heads to Pittsburgh this weekend to face Pitt on Sunday, Sept. 27 at 1 p.m. on ACCNX.
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