After an incredible postseason run, marked by perseverance on and off the field, Washington women’s soccer fell to Duke in the Elite Eight, coming up short of making their first NCAA College Cup appearance.
The fourth-seeded Huskies fell to the second-seeded Blue Devils 3-0 on Friday afternoon at Duke’s Freeman Field at Koskinen Stadium in Durham, N.C.
Duke will now make their sixth College Cup appearance and first back-to-back.
The Huskies had one of their most successful seasons in program history, despite mourning the death of their senior goalkeeper, Mia Hamant, who died on Nov. 6 after a monthslong battle with stage four kidney cancer.
All in her honor, they dominated the Big Ten in just their second year in the conference and punched their first ticket to the Eight Eight since 2010 and third program history.
Washington came into Friday off a thrilling upset win against first-seed host Virginia on Sunday in Charlottesville, Va. After 20 minutes of overtime, locked at 1-1, the Huskies defeated the Cavaliers in a penalty shootout, 5-4.
Duke won 2-0 against third-seed Kansas at home on Sunday to clinch their 11th quarterfinal appearance in the last 15 years.
The Huskies, who won the Big Ten regular season and conference title, matched their host’s tempo off the kickoff, keeping the possession predominantly in the center of the field.
The Blue Devils, however, began increasing offensive pressure 10 minutes into the half, pushing farther up the field and keeping Washington on its back heels. Duke took two shots and five corner kicks in the span of four minutes, with the Huskies scrambling to clear the ball out of its defensive third.
Washington rose to the occasion, though. The team began relieving the pressure on their own box and nailed four shots, two on frame, over the course of the next 10 minutes.
Duke snuck through, though, and opened the scoring in the 35th minute. Junior forward Kat Rader did a savvy give-and-go with senior midfielder Carina Lageyre inside the 18-yard-box before slotting a left-footed shot, which ricocheted off the near post and past Huskies keeper Tanner Ijams.
The Blue Devils capitalized on their momentum, knuckling three more shots in the half’s remaining minutes. They went into halftime with 11 shots to the Huskies’ four and 11 corners to the Huskies’ zero.
Duke maintained its advantage going into the second half, keeping the ball past the midfield line for the majority of the first 10 minutes.
The Blue Devils made it 2-0 in the 57th minute with senior midfielder Devin Lynch’s right-footed rocket from 20 yards out. Lynch found space in front of the box, and the force of her shot was too much for Ijams, who did make contact with the ball.
The Huskies attempted a strong response to Duke’s goal, taking four shots in the span of six minutes, but to no avail.
The Blue Devils nearly notched their third in the 78th minute. Junior midfielder Mia Oliaro took a left-footed strike to the bottom, right-hand corner of the net, but Ijams made the big save.
Duke double-downed less than three minutes later to take the 3-0 lead. Junior forward Mia Minestrella went on a breakaway past the Huskies’ back line and fired a right-footed shot, which bounced off Ijams’ hand into the net. It marked Minestrella’s sixth goal in the NCAA tournament.
The Huskies ended with nine shots and two corners to Duke’s 21 and 12.
The Huskies entered the stadium donning black and orange T-shirts that said, “SHUT OUT CANCER,” in honor of Hamant.
Adidas gifted the Washington players new orange cleats, the color of kidney cancer awareness, on Friday morning. The cleats were custom-designed with the lettering “FOR MIA” and an orange ribbon by the heel.
The Huskies also continued to sport orange ribbons in their hair and orange ribbons steamed onto the left side of their jersies in honor of Mia.
Washington was cheered on by former US women’s national team star goalkeeper, Hope Solo. The two-time Olympian and World Cup champion was born in Richland, Wa. and played for the Huskies between 1999-2002.
This story will be updated.