No. 18 Soccer’s season ends in the NCAA Third Round at No. 3 Duke, 3-0

Sunday, November 19

Durham, N.C.

12 p.m.

University of Texas

14-4-3

#3 Duke

22-2-0

Texas

Duke

No. 18 Soccer’s season ends in the NCAA Third Round at No. 3 Duke, 3-0

11.19.2017 | Soccer

Box Score

The Longhorns complete their 2017 campaign at 14-4-3 overall with a school record-tying 11 shutouts

DURHAM, N.C. – On Sunday afternoon at Koskinen Stadium, top-seeded and No. 3-ranked Duke (22-2-0) got goals from forwards Imani Dorsey and Kayla McCoy as well as midfielder Taylor Racioppi to eliminate fourth-seeded and No. 18-ranked Texas soccer (14-4-3) from the NCAA Third Round, 3-0.

The Longhorns wrapped up an historic year that included equaling the school single-season record with 11 shutouts while tying for the fifth-most wins in one campaign in program history (14).

UT will graduate just two seniors as 25 of 27 current roster players are expected to return for the 2018 campaign.

The Burnt Orange & White were led offensively by four shots from sophomore forward Cyera Hintzen, while sophomore Nicole Curry managed four stops between the pipes against the powerful Blue Devils.

Duke out-shot the Longhorns by a 14-6 count and led 7-1 in shots on goal, while the two teams tied at 3-3 on corner kicks.

"Duke is one of the top squads in the country," Texas head coach Angela Kelly said. "They are very, very seasoned and have terrific personalities. I think they have an opportunity to win the whole thing. I thought we were just a little tentative at the beginning of the match and our youthfulness showed. Starting three or four freshmen or sophomores and playing three or four more at any given time, our team has passed a tremendous amount of hurdles this season. Overall, I couldn't be more proud of our team, and this experience will be invaluable going forward."

Duke wasted little time jumping in front on the scoreboard as a perfect through ball up the middle from Racioppi located Dorsey behind the Texas backline just 2:45 in. She raced in 1-v-1 against Curry and scored into the left edge of goal from 10 yards out to make it 1-0.

After the Blue Devils' quick start, Texas finally started settling into the match around the 10th minute. First, junior midfielder Katie Glenn got the Longhorns on the board shot-wise with a 20-yard blast that traveled wide left at 12:02. Hintzen followed just 51 seconds later by forcing Duke goalkeeper EJ Proctor to make a save on a shot from just outside the top of the box.

Dorsey found more room up the middle against Texas during the 20th minute. The forward raced into the 18-yard box and struck a shot from 14 yards that Curry managed to catch with no rebound.

The Blue Devils continued to press offensively with great work by UT sophomore defender Atu Mshana and junior defender Paige Hooper preventing building Duke opportunities.

Off a throw-in during the 30th minute, a Duke clearance attempt inside the 18 traveled right to Hintzen. The Garland, Texas, product dribbled quickly to her left and launched a shot from 14 yards that was blocked away.

The Blue Devils managed to double their lead at 30:34 as a cross from the left wing by midfielder Ella Stevens dropped right in the middle of the 18. Curry charged off her line to attempt to corral the feed, but was beat to the ball on a diving header by forward Kayla McCoy as Duke moved in front 2-0.

Out of the halftime break, it was Texas with the first shot of the second half as Hintzen received a pass inside the top left edge of the 18 and tried an attempt that was blocked.

Back at the other end, Duke's Kat McDonald received a through ball up the middle and raced into the 18. With UT sophomore defender Emma Jett right off the Blue Devil midfielder's left shoulder trying to affect the play, Curry managed to stick out her left leg to somehow deflect away a nine-yard shot.

At 64:25, Racioppi received a pass from Stevens just inside the top of the 18, moved a step to her left and struck the upper 90 from 14 yards out to boost Duke's advantage to 3-0.

The Longhorns continued to fight, earning a corner during the 69th minute with Jett eventually delivering the ball short to Hintzen. The UT forward dribbled into the right edge of the 18 and launched a shot from 15 yards that ventured just two feet wide of the right post.

Duke nearly added another during the 79th minute as a cross from the right side missed finding a pair of Blue Devils charging towards the top of the six by a foot before rolling over the end line.

Junior midfielder Amber Stearns tried her luck for the Longhorns from distance at 80:55, but her effort from 25-plus yards traveled wide left of frame for a goal kick.

Down the stretch, Texas freshman defender Taylor Currie and Hintzen each did strong work to reach the 18-yard box, but couldn't quite find space to launch a shot.

With less than a minute remaining in the match, the Longhorns earned one final corner, but Duke was able to clear the delivery out of danger to finish off the three-goal win.