Cooper ties it up at 1-1 with 6 minutes to go in the half!
UCLA takes a 1-0 lead on a penalty kick after 11 minutes.
Cooper ties it up at 1-1 with 6 minutes to go in the half!
Super Duper Cooper strikes again. Tied at one.
"This is the best of all possible worlds."
Dr. Pangloss - Candide
UCLA takes the lead 2-1 on a goal by Turner. Duke has pounded away but UCLA's goalie has been solid. Duke has had 11 shots with 10 on goal. UCLA 7 and 4. Nine minutes to go.
That's a wrap, 2-1 UCLA.
UCLA’s goalie set a career high for saves with 9
UCLA was the stronger more physical, team. Their goalie outplayed ours.
"This is the best of all possible worlds."
Dr. Pangloss - Candide
Can't get the equalizer. Valiant effort. UCLA was well prepared and was a tough adversary for Duke. UNC is undefeated and is coming up September 6.
Coach Church is 0-6-1 against UCLA.
"This is the best of all possible worlds."
Dr. Pangloss - Candide
Disappointing finish as we had several good chances that fell short. Credit UCLA’s goalie for sure. Once again we controlled possession but were vulnerable to quick strikes when our defense got beat. After UCLA scored the first goal they had several other opportunities and seemed to have taken control of the game, but we recovered nicely.
Great crowd in Koskinen, the bleachers were full and loud. I spotted Jeremy Roach, Jaylen Blakes and Spencer Hubbard in the crowd. Late in the game another player arrived, it might have been Catchings but I honestly wasn’t sure. Hope the team can regroup for a couple big games coming up.
I thought Duke outplayed UCLA significantly in the first half, had a huge portion of the possession and just didn't finish. The second half was move evenly played and I agree that UCLA was more physical.
This is the first women's game I made this season. I really enjoyed it and plan to come back next week for the UNCheat game. I also learned when you sit on the 'visitor' side of the field you are allowed to bring your dog. I was sitting with the Groff's (long time friends) and they had all 3 of their dogs with them. Made for an even better game day experience for me.
At one point I just asked "who's #7" and was told it was Sophie and both Groffs told me how great she is and how well she knows the game and another parent told me she's a great person too. All I know was that in the first half, I loved watching her play. Great decision making, quick and strong with the ball (especially for a smaller player).
Seemed to me that UCLA was really good at getting numbers back on defense and counter attacking. Was told that Duke usually applies a lot of high pressure but we didn't see that against UCLA and I wondered if it was because counter so well (big fast team).
Wish we would have pulled out the win but it was great to make the game either way.
They don't do that for every game, yesterday was a special promotion similar to the "Bark at the Park" nights that the Durham Bulls do at the DBAP.
Sophie Jones is awesome, I'm far from a soccer aficionado but she reminds me of Bobby Hurley. Patrols the middle, sees the whole field and always knows exactly where to place herself and how to distribute the ball.
Duke travels to #6 TCU for a game this Sunday at 8, coverage on ESPN+.
"This is the best of all possible worlds."
Dr. Pangloss - Candide
UCLA beat #1 UNC in Chapel Hill this afternoon by the same score as Duke, 2-1. That was quite a road trip for the Bruins!
Michelle Cooper with a goal to put Duke up on TCU 1-0.
Still 1-0 at the half. TCU controlled the last 20 minutes of play, in which Cooper sat out. Jones made a couple of good saves. I'm assuming Coach Church is saving Michelle for the second half.
TCU has controlled the 2nd half thus far but Cooper gets another goal on a counter-attack. 2-0 Duke.
Duke wins 3-1. It was a fairly even match overall and it got a bit chippy in the second half but Duke's defense was superior. Duke lead in shots 13-12, but TCU had 11 corners to Duke's 1. A solid Top-10 road win for the Blue Devils! Next up is UNC on Thursday at Koskinen.