Underclassmen lead Duke women’s soccer to victory on Senior Day

It was Senior Day for the Duke women’s soccer team, but underclassmen celebrated as much as anyone.

Freshman defender Chelsea Burns scored her first two goals of the season, leading No. 22 Duke to a 5-0 victory Sunday over N.C. State at Koskinen Stadium in the regular-season finale for both teams.

Underclassmen tallied all five goals in the light drizzle for Duke (10-5-4, 4-3-3 ACC), with sophomores Ashton Miller and Imani Dorsey and freshman Taylor Racioppi also getting into the act.

Duke wrapped up eighth place in the ACC with the victory but will sit out the conference tournament, which involves only the top four teams. The Blue Devils will await NCAA tournament bids Nov. 9, and their national ranking and RPI of 12 should result in a favorable seed and first-round home game.

“We give our resume to the NCAA now,” Duke coach Robbie Church said. “It’s a very strong resume, with quality wins up and down. I’m really looking forward to the postseason.”

N.C. State (4-15, 0-10) dropped its 11th straight match to close out the season. It was the 15th consecutive loss for the Wolfpack in the series, which Duke leads 21-10-1, and marked the 12th season in a row the Blue Devils have shut out the Pack.

Burns joined the starting lineup four games ago at left back but came off the bench Sunday as six seniors – Courtney McDaniel, Kelly McCann, Sammie Thomas, Danielle Duhl, Cassie Pecht, and Kara Wilson – got the honorary starts.

It didn’t take Burns long to make her presence known. She entered in the 17th minute and 11 minutes later worked a perfect give-and-go with Racioppi to finish from 6 yards for the goal. Less than a minute later, Burns stole the ball from a State defender and beat goalkeeper Sydney Wootten with a high, arcing shot from 25 yards that found the upper right corner.

“I saw Taylor making her run, and we were on the same page,” Burns said of the return pass from her roommate. “Once I was up there, I figured I’d complete my run.”

Burns said scoring that goal gave her the confidence to take the second shot from distance.

“After scoring the first goal, I had it in my mind,” she admitted. “I figured, ‘Why not?’”

“Both were very nice goals, at a critical time,” Church noted. “We had the ball a lot but didn’t have anything on the scoreboard. That’s been a recurring theme for us this season.”

Miller, who also had an assist, and Racioppi each picked up their fifth goals of the season as the Blue Devils opened up a commanding 4-0 lead by halftime. Dorsey added her fourth goal on a header in the 71st minute.

Duke goalkeeper EJ Proctor had to make only one save as the Blue Devils outshot State 16-3, 8-0 in that dominant first half. Wootten and Mackenzie Stelljes each had a save for the Pack as they split time in goal.

N.C. State coach Tim Santoro called it a “disappointing end” to his third season with the Wolfpack but said, “This is a process. It’s a frustrating process at times, but you’ve just got to remain patient and stick to your plan.”

He added, “In the ACC you don’t move from the bottom and go right back to the elite.”

This story was originally published November 1, 2015 at 7:09 PM with the headline "Underclassmen lead Duke women’s soccer to victory on Senior Day."