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Penalty kick proves crucial in women's soccer's 1-0 loss

<p>Although the Cavaliers fell at No. 4 Duke, senior goalkeeper Morgan Stearns was stellar in goal, as she has been all season.&nbsp;</p>

Although the Cavaliers fell at No. 4 Duke, senior goalkeeper Morgan Stearns was stellar in goal, as she has been all season. 

The Cavaliers travelled down to Durham, N.C. Saturday, to take on the Duke Blue Devils in a top-five matchup that promised to be chock-full of excitement.

Unfortunately, the game ended with No. 5 Virginia (10-3-2, 3-2-2 ACC) falling at No. 4 Duke (11-2-2, 6-0-1 ACC) by a score of 1-0.

In a very back and forth game, neither team really mounted too much of an offensive threat to each other. Neither team wanted to be the one to make a mistake.

At halftime, the score was even with Virginia having a four to two advantage in the shot column. The game was begging for someone to find the breakthrough.

Unfortunately, it seemed as though neither team would yield the much-anticipated first goal. The 63rd minute ended up being the crucial one, however, as Duke senior midfielder Christina Gibbons drew a penalty when she was taken down in the box. Gibbons then hammered home her penalty kick to give the Blue Devils the 1-0 lead that proved to be the difference in the game.

In the end, Duke tallied nine shots — four on goal — to Virginia’s eight — two on goal — leaving both keepers relatively untested on the evening.

It was a respectable performance from the Cavaliers, who put together a solid game against one of the top teams in the country, but unfortunately the Cavaliers came away with zero points on a day where they would have at least liked to salvage a draw.

The Cavaliers will return home for their next match against North Carolina State scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. Thursday at Klöckner Stadium.

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