What’s better than one? Two- and that’s all Annapolis needed to seal its spot in the Conference Finals.
Having not been tested much throughout the regular season, Duffy stole the show, putting the Blues on her back as Annapolis recorded a fifth-consecutive shutout in front of Thursday night’s crowd of 3,449.
The Blues controlled the tempo early on, foreshadowing what would be another strong showing of women’s soccer in Naptown.
Caroline Duffy’s first save of the half came in the ninth minute as she made a simple, mid-height diving save from a first-time shot, inside the box, that was headed towards the back post. This was simply a warm-up for her second call to action, coming in the 13th minute. Alyssa Abramson steeped to take a free kick, awarded to Long Island after a Gabby Wisbeck foul on the Rough Rider’s right wing. From 15 yards out, her left-footed free kick was whipped in with pace and headed for the top right corner. Duffy met Abramson’s strike with two string hands, keeping things at bay for the Blues in spectacular fashion.
After 24 minutes, Kelsey Smith opened the scoring to put Annapolis up 1-0. Smith, who has been a potent assist-provider all season, took matters into her own hands on this occasion. A stray back pass from Jaylen Vallecillo, who attempted to find her center back, was intercepted by Smith roughly 30 yards out from goal. The University of Maryland attacker drove directly at Abramson, beating her with pure pace, before taking aim at goal from 12 yards out. Her left-footed finish from the left-center side of the box beat Natalie Medugno at her near post, giving Annapolis the much desired opening goal.
Just minutes before halftime, Duffy came up with yet another strong save. This time, the University of Oklahoma goalkeeper dove to her right after Thalia Morisi unleashed a curling effort towards the back post from just outside the box. The Blues finished the half holding the possession in advantage, with 53%.
The second half saw a similar battle to the first, with both sides creating a couple opportunities, however none were that promising. A majority of the half was played in the middle of the pitch as Annapolis shored up its defense, looking to see out the lead, which was ultimately sealed in the 95th minute. As Long Island pushed players forward for a tying goal, the backline became quite susceptible to a counterattack. Smith received the ball at midfield and took one touch around the final defender. Sprinting over 40 yards, she was one-on-one with Medugno as she entered the box. Smith dribbled around the onrushing Medugno, carrying the ball to her right before slotting it into the empty net.
Finishing the regular season with a bang, Annapolis was one of seven teams to remain undefeated and allowed the T-2nd fewest goals, conceding only five times across 10 matches.
The Eastern Conference Final will take place on Sunday, July 6th at 7:30 pm between Annapolis Blues FC and North Carolina Courage U23 at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
