The two teams line up prior to the friendly match against Beijing Normal University. For more photos from the game, click here for the goduke.com page.
Read MoreAfter a morning that featured a team meeting, pool workout and pregame meal, the Duke women’s soccer team played a 90-minute scrimmage against Beijing Normal University that concluded in a 1-1 draw, which took place at Beijing Normal University in Beijing, China.
Prior to the match, Hao Ping, Vice Minister of Education in China, and Sean O’Hallaren, Senior Vice President of Nike, talked with the teams and both squads presented the two with gifts. The duo also had ceremonial first kicks prior to getting the action going.
“It was amazing,” said junior Imani Dorsey. “It was an incredible experience. From the opening ceremony and seeing the banner with it being a friendship game. I am honored to be a part of that and it was incredible. Getting out here to play some really talented Chinese players was a great experience.”
Duke opened the match with a starting lineup that featured junior EJ Proctor in goal, senior Lizzy Raben, junior Morgan Reid, sophomore Chelsea Burns and sophomore Mary Love Taylor on defense. In the midfield, sophomore Taylor Racioppi, sophomore Kat McDonald and redshirt junior Malinda Allen started, while sophomore Kayla McCoy, Dorsey and junior Casey Martinez kicked off the match up front for the Blue Devils.
China started on the attack with a shot from Zhu Zhang just six minutes into the contest, but Proctor was there for the save. After another shot three minutes later from China, it was presented with a free kick in the 13th minute as Duke was called for a foul just outside the box.
Yue Yun Lu stepped up and placed the attempt into the upper 90 of the goal from 20 yards out and China led 1-0.
“It was a fantastic goal [by China], but I knew we could rally through that,” said Dorsey. “We weren’t playing terrible in the first half, but we definitely came together, I think, in the second half and started to stretch them and play through them. I think that is where we got our best opportunities.”
China added four more shots, but Proctor continued to play tough and collected three more saves.
The Duke women's soccer team at the Great Wall of China on Saturday. Photo by Lindy Brown/Duke Sports Information
It took a while for the Blue Devil offense to get going as Duke did not attempt a shot until the 26th minute when McCoy fired an attempt wide. A product of Lincolnwood, Ill., McCoy had another shot in the 29th minute that was saved as well. The shot resulted in a corner kick that Racioppi sent into the box, but was cleared.
China fired one more shot that went high with 13 minutes remaining in the half, before the first stanza came to a close.
At the end of 45 minutes, China outshot Duke, 8-2, while Proctor finished with four saves.
“We haven’t been training for a while,” said Duke head coach Robbie Church. “Most of our players have been all over the country and came back and got a couple of trainings in at the end. I thought we probably struggled a little bit early in the match. EJ made a couple some really nice saves to keep us in the match with it to. As the match went on, we started to build and we got better and better. We started to possess a little bit more. We started having better runs off the ball and delivered balls quicker.”
Duke made some adjustments at halftime and came out in the second half with a solid offensive attack. After China attempted the first shot of the half that Proctor saved, the Blue Devils came back with a goal of their own.
Martinez made a good run down the left side of the pitch and found a streaking McCoy just outside the box on the left. McCoy used her left foot to send in a cross to Dorsey, who hit the left corner of the net to even the score, 1-1, in the 40th minute.
“What a really great goal by Imani,” commented Church. “There was a great service from the flank play and the buildup was nice. In the second half, the buildup and possession was much better than it was in the first half.”
Duke would go on to take three out of the next four shots, which included a diving stop by China goalkeeper on a great attempt by McCoy. The two teams traded shots, before McCoy had a header shot that went high over the crossbar in the 68th minute.
Casey Martinez dribbles the ball away from a Beijing opponent during the first half of Sunday's match. Photo by Lindy Brown/Duke Sports Information
“I was playing center mid, which is kind of different for me,” said Dorsey. “But I felt like I had a lot more space to roam around and get where I wanted to. When Casey got that ball wide and then to Kayla, I just felt like they was a lot of space to get in and get to that near post.”
China would go back on the attack sending four straight shots at Duke, but the Blue Devil defense held strong with two saves from Proctor.
With 14 minutes remaining, Dorsey got another good look, but saw her right-footed shot just go outside the left post. McDonald also had a shot that was saved in the 82nd minute.
For the match, China outshot Duke, 16-9.
A native of Wilson, N.C., Proctor finished the match with eight saves over 90 minutes. China keeper Yue Zhang had three saves.
“It was a fair enough score,” said Church. “We had a couple of chances to get the winner and they had a couple down on their side as well.”
Duke used all 15 players in the match as sophomore Anna Munro, senior Krysia Sikora, junior Schuyler DeBree, and graduate Cassie Pecht came off the bench. DeBree, who hails from Fair Haven, N.J., saw her first game action since tearing her ACL Sept. 24 at Boston College.
The Blue Devils were without the services of starting players Christina Gibbons, Toni Payne, Rebecca Quinn and Ashton Miller due to other commitments with national teams and study abroad programs.
Duke will compete again against Beijing Normal University in the official match Tuesday, June 7, as part of the seventh annual meeting of the U.S-China Consultation on People-to-People Exchange in Beijing.