Women’s soccer falls 2-0 at No. 12 Duke

DURHAM, North Carolina – Maddy Henry made a season-high seven saves and Marquette held No. 12 Duke off the board for 67 minutes before falling, 2-0, in the Duke Nike Classic on Thursday evening at Koskinen Stadium in Durham.

Henry made six saves in the first half for the Golden Eagles (0-3-1), who were looking for their first win of the season and the second in their fourth matchup all-time against Duke.

Freshman Mackenzie Pluck and junior Ella Stevens each scored second half goals for the Blue Devils (3-1-1), who out-shot their opponents from Milwaukee, 22-4.

Henry and the Marquette defense held in the first half despite being outshot 13-1. Henry made a pair of saves in the third and fourth minutes to get things started and got some help from her backline on a block off a rebound from the initial shot in the fourth. The junior goalkeeper also made three saves in the final 10 minutes of the opening stanza to keep the match scoreless heading into the half.
Duke fired the first four shots to open the second half before the Golden Eagles got a bit of momentum in the attacking third in the 63rd minute. Following a chance at the top of the box by Katrina Wetherell that was negated by the Duke defense, Emily Hess went wide up the left flank and found the head of Kylie Sprecher for MU's second shot. That header was saved by Duke keeper Brooke Heinsohn to set up MU's only corner of the night.
Leah Celarek followed with a shot of her own a minute later, which sailed high from just outside the box.

Pluck finally broke the scoreless tie in 68th minute on her fourth shot after receiving a perfect set-up from Stevens at the top of the box. Pluck weaved to the right side of the cage and fired it past Henry, who had previously stopped a pair of Pluck's shots in the fourth and 11th minutes.

Stevens added Duke's second and final tally less than five minutes later.

Thursday's meeting marked the fourth all-time matchup between the Golden Eagles and Blue Devils, all of which have come in the Duke Nike Classic (previously the Duke adidas Classic. Marquette claimed the first meeting in the series, 2-1, in 2002 and dropped the previous matchup, 5-2, in 2012. MU also drew Duke, 1-1, in 2006.

Sophomore forward Kylie Sprecher made her first start of the season alongside MU's leading goal scorer Carrie Madden. Sprecher, who was a BIG EAST All-Freshman Team selection last season after posting three goals and a team-high six assists, had played a total of 85 minutes entering tonight's match while working her way back from an offseason injury.

The Golden Eagles resume play in the Duke Nike Classic on at 11 a.m. Central time on Sunday against No. 3 North Carolina (4-0-1), which topped Providence, 1-0, on Thursday afternoon.

Junior goalkeeper Maddy Henry shares her thoughts following Thursday's loss at No. 12 Duke. pic.twitter.com/1QvBDyiU6H
— MARQUETTE Soccer (@MarquetteWSOC) August 31, 2018

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