Three different Blue Devils scored goals in their 4-0 win Friday night.
MORGANTOWN, W.V. – It was domination on both sides of the ball for 11th-ranked Duke (6-1-0), as the Blue Devils shut down the third-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers (4-2-0) to the tune of 4-0 Friday night in Morgantown, West Virginia.
Behind four goals from three different players and an outstanding game in goal from EJ Proctor, the Blue Devils picked up their sixth straight win to mark their longest streak since winning seven straight in 2011.
Duke delivered West Virginia its first home loss in regulation since Aug. 29, 2014 (43-straight match streak), when the Blue Devils shut out the Mountaineers 2-0.
“We played a full 90-minute game tonight and I’m really proud of this team,” Duke coach Robbie Churchsaid. “I want to also congratulate our staff on doing a phenomenal job preparing us for this match. Erwin [van Bennekom] watched a lot of tape and created a great game plan for us. This team really carried that out and it was phenomenal. It doesn’t matter what formation we were in, they just had unbelievable commitment to the plan and made it work.
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“We scored some great goals as well. We’ve been knocking on the door all year and they finally started going in. Again, could not be more proud of the work and commitment of this team."
FINAL STATS | A look at the box score from tonight's shutout victory in Morgantown against No. 3 WVU!#GoDuke pic.twitter.com/WlKeuki8pZ
— Duke Women's Soccer (@DukeWSOC) September 9, 2017
Both sides provided pressure in the early stages of the contest, with Duke putting several shots on target. The breakthrough came at the 28:27 mark, as Imani Dorsey took a pass from Rebecca Quinnand fired a rocket from 22 yards out to the far right post, giving the Blue Devils a 1-0 lead. That score now gives Dorsey a goal in six-straight matches, which ties a school record set by Casey McCluskey in 2004.
Nearly 10 minutes later Duke would add to its lead, but this time from an unlikely source. Kat McDonaldsecured her first-career goal to give a 2-0 advantage to Duke, making Mountaineers pay for a mistake and putting a running shot from outside the 18-yard box past the keeper. WVU would get two more shots off in the half, but Proctor made the save on one while the other went wide to send the match into halftime with a two-goal lead for Church’s squad.
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The Mountaineers looked to swing momentum in the second half with an early shot just a minute and a half in, but the Blue Devils kept the goals coming. Kayla McCoy put the nail in the coffin, earning the third brace of her career with goals at the 52:27 (from Schuyler DeBree) and 62:09 (from Ella Stevens) marks to push Duke’s lead to 4-0.
63' | GOOOOAAAALLLL!!
— Duke Women's Soccer (@DukeWSOC) September 9, 2017
ANOTHER ONE! Kayla McCoy with her second goal of the night as she just gets it over the line!
4-0 #GoDuke pic.twitter.com/q9RTyi6BlQ
From there, Proctor and the Blue Devil defense turned back each WVU attempt to mount a comeback. The senior secured her second-straight shutout and 23rd of her career. Proctor is now 4-1-0 on the season.
“To get a shutout and to get it on the road in this environment is huge,” Church said. “It’s a great win, but now we have to turn around and get ready to play a great Utah team at home on Monday.”
