NC State
RV Duke
NC State Falls 1-0 to Local Rival Duke
9/25/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
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RALEIGH - The NC State women's soccer team dropped a close 1-0 decision to local rival Duke on Thursday evening at Dail Soccer Field.
The Wolfpack gave up the match's lone goal in the 14th minute and was able to withstand heavy Duke offensive pressure without conceding for the remainder of the first half. State battled back in the second 45 minutes, doubling its shot total from the first half. The Wolfpack nearly tied the match on two occasions in the 88th minute when, in a four-second span, freshman Kayla Saager hit the crossbar and junior Caroline Gentry had a shot saved at the near post.
"What we wanted to do in the first half, we did in the second half," NC State head coach Tim Santoro said. "It was a strong final 45 minutes, but it just wasn't quite enough."
The Wolfpack (2-6-2, 0-2-0 ACC) would hold off a strong spell of Duke (6-4-0, 2-0-0 ACC) offense to get to the halftime whistle facing a one-goal deficit.
NC State's defense held strong in the first few minutes of the second half, blocking four consecutive Blue Devil attempts in the 46th minute.
In the final ten minutes of the match, State was able to piece together a number of strong attacking opportunities.
The Wolfpack would record the final three shots of the match, with the 88th-minute chances by Saager and Gentry proving to be its best scoring opportunities.
"In the last 15-20 minutes things came back to us and we found some things we wanted to do in the attack," Santoro said. "We couldn't have asked for two better chances to tie it, but we just didn't finish."
NC State will complete its rivalry weekend at home on Sunday against No. 9 UNC-Chapel Hill. Kickoff between the Wolfpack and Tar Heels is set for 1 p.m. at Dail Soccer Field.
#GoPack
