Duke Opens NCAA Tourney Play Friday Versus Rutgers

11/12/2009 10:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. - The 2009 NCAA College Cup will kick off on Friday as the Duke women's soccer team (8-8-4, 4-4-2 ACC) travels to South Carolina to face 12th-ranked Rutgers (13-3-4, 7-1-3 Big East) on Friday, Nov. 13 at 4:30 p.m. at Eugene E. Stone III Stadium in Columbia, S.C. This will be the first of two subregional matches, with eighth-ranked and second seeded South Carolina and Davidson to follow at 7:00 p.m. The winners of these matches will face off on Sunday, Nov. 15 at 1:00 p.m., with the victor advancing to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen.

Ticket prices for each of the games will be $8.00 for adults and $5.00 for youths. For those fans not able to attend the match on Friday, free live video streaming will be available at GamecocksOnline.com.

Duke in the NCAA Tournament
By earning an at-large berth into the NCAA College Cup, the Blue Devils have reached the big show for the seventh straight season and the 16th time in school history. Duke has won at least one contest in the tournament each of the last seven appearances and holds an overall record of 19-15 in tournament play. The only time Duke has reached the NCAA Championship game was back in 1992.

The Blue Devils are coming off registering back-to-back NCAA Elite Eight appearances for the first time in school history.

A Look at the Opponent
Rutgers enters Friday's match with a 13-3-4 (7-1-3 Big East) record. The Scarlet Knights are led by Ashley Jones and Karla Schacher with eight goals, three assists and five goals, three assists, respectively. Senior goalie Erin Guthrie ranks sixth nationally in goals against average (0.462 average) and 10th in save percentage (0.882). As a team, the Scarlet Knights are ranked seventh nationally in goals against average with an average of 0.473 goals allowed per game. Rutgers is coming off a 1-0 loss in the Big East Conference quarterfinals to West Virginia in their last outing on Nov.1.

The Series
This will be the fourth installment of the series, with the series record currently standing at 3-0 in favor of Duke. The Blue Devils and Scarlet Knights will clash for the first time since 1998, a 2-0 Duke victory in the UConn Classic in Storrs, Conn.

In The Rankings
Rutgers is ranked 12th in the NSCAA and 23rd in the Soccer America polls. Duke is unranked. South Carolina is listed eighth in the Soccer America and NSCAA polls.

Familiar Faces
The Blue Devils will be seeing some familiar players when they face off against Rutgers. Freshman Callie Simpkins' sister Emmy is a red-shirt freshman goalie for the Scarlet Knights. Additionally, Rutgers seniors Gina Demaio, Jennifer Anzivino, and Erin Guthrie were club soccer teammates of Duke seniors Elisabeth Redmond and Sara Murphy. They were coached by Scarlet Knights Associate Head Coach Mike O'Neill.

Scoring Success
Heading into the NCAA Tournament, the Blue Devils have netted 12 goals over the last seven games. Duke netted 10 goals in a four game stretch against quality ACC opponents -- Miami, Clemson, Virginia, and Virginia Tech. The last time that the Blue Devils had this impressive of a stretch during ACC play was in 2004 when Duke scored 10 goals in four games (Florida State, Miami, Virginia, and N.C. State) and 12 in five contests (adding in Wake Forest).

The Duke Record Book
Senior KayAnne Gummersall owns 34 career goals and is currently in fourth place, one behind Sherrill Kester. Her 79 points has moved her into fifth place all-time. Senior Elisabeth Redmond owns 35 career assists to rank second on the Blue Devil charts and is seven away from Andi Melde's record of 42. Her 26 goals ranks seventh on Duke's list. Redmond owns 87 career points, which is fourth all-time for the Blue Devils, one behind third place Andi Melde. With 272 shots in four years, Redmond ranks second at Duke. Both Redmond and Gummersall are also in the top five for most game-winning goals. Redmond is third with 14, three behind Casey McCluskey, and Gummersall is fourth with 11. With 11 goals on the season, Gummersall is currently ninth place in single season scoring. Redmond currently sits tied for second in single season assists with 12.

Campbell Nearing Record
Freshman goalkeeper Tara Campbell needs only two more saves to register a Duke single season record for saves. She is currently third with 92, needing only one more to tie for first. Thora Helgadottir and Melissa Carr currently hold the record of 93.

New Formations
In an effort to slow down Florida State's high powered offense on Oct. 11, the Blue Devils switched from their normal 4-3-3 formation to a more defensive 4-4-2 formation on Oct. 11. Due to this change and outstanding goalkeeping from Tara Campbell, who bounced back with a strong performance after the Maryland loss, Duke was able to prevent Florida State from putting the ball in the back of the net. Church and the Blue Devils have remained in this formation and the defensive effort continued throughout the Miami and Clemson contests as the team held the Hurricanes and Tigers to 28 shots and no goals., respectively. The Blue Devils then gave up a goal in three consecutive games against Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Boston College before blanking N.C. State. Since implementing the formation change, Duke has scored 12 goals in eight games and is 4-3-1 during the stretch.

At Home and on the Road
Duke is 2-3-1 on the road this season, with the most recent contest being a win over N.C. State. The Blue Devils are 6-2-3 this season at home, and 21-7-3 over the past three years at Koskinen Stadium. Duke has scored 26 goals and allowed nine goals at home this year.

Close Calls
With the exception of the Maryland and Florida State losses, all of the Blue Devils' losses have been by a single goal. Of those one-goal defeats, three have been on the road, two at a neutral site, and only one has occurred at home.

In The ACC/NCAA Stats
Duke senior Elisabeth Redmond is first in the ACC in assists and assists per game with 12 and a 0.63 average, respectively. Nationally, Redmond is ranked sixth in assists per game. Sophomore Cody Newman also ranks tied for third in assists and third in assists per game with nine and a 0.47 average, respectively, and is ranked 29th nationally in assists per game. Redmond is also third in shots and fourth in shots per game with 77 and a 4.05 average, respectively. Senior KayAnne Gummersall is tenth in shots per game (2.75), sixth in points (26) and points per game (1.30 average), fifth in goals (11) and sixth in goals per game (0.55 average). Freshman Tara Campbell is first in saves (92) and saves per game with a 5.11 average. Her goals against average of 1.03 is currently seventh.

Tough Defense
Duke has only allowed nine goals in the first half this season and only 20 total goals in 20 matches. The defense has allowed 115 total shots at home so far this season. Sophomore Emily Nahas and freshman Tara Campbell have each seen time in the net, while the combination of Gretchen Miller, Nicole Lipp, Maddy Haller, Erin Koballa, Molly Mack, and Libby Jandl have all played well in the back. In the ACC regular season, Duke allowed only nine goals in 10 league contests, which was the second-fewest allowed all season -- UNC and Boston College (8); Duke and Virginia (9). Two of Duke's 20 goals allowed this season were own-goals (vs. LSU and vs. FSU in the ACC Tournament).

Starting Freshmen
So far, Duke has started five freshmen - Campbell, Lipp, Haller, Koballa, and Jandl -- this season. Campbell, a goalkeeper from Cincinnati, Ohio, has started 18 of the 20 matches and currently holds a 1.03 goals against average in addition to an assist. Lipp, a defender hailing from Lake Forest, Ill., had her first two career goals against N.C. State on Nov. 1 to go along with one assist while playing the second most minutes on the team. Lipp has anchored the center of the back line and also recently moved to the center of the midfield. Haller, a defender from South Salem, N.Y., has picked up two assists and has played in all 20 matches, starting 18 while playing outside back. Koballa, a defender from Wrightsville Beach, N.C., has started all 20 matches at outside back and currently is third on the team in minutes played. Jandl, a defender from Mission Hills, Kansas, started her first collegiate game against Florida State, has one goal, one assist and seen action in 18 contests -- starting in eight. She is coming off posting her first career goal on her first career shot against Miami on Oct. 15.

Scoring Blue Devils
Of the 34 goals Duke has netted through 20 matches, 20 of those have come during the first half of play. The duo of seniors KayAnne Gummersall and Elisabeth Redmond continue their torrid offensive play with 11 goals, four assists and three goals, 12 assists, respectively. Gummersall currently leads the team with 11 goals, five of which have been headers, while Redmond leads the squad with her 12 assists, followed by sophomore Cody Newman with nine. Sophomore Chelsea Canepa owns five goals and had a streak of three consecutive contests with at least one goal, scoring against Florida, Alabama A&M, and LSU.

Struggling to Score -- No More
Duke had not scored a goal since Gummersall's tally to tie the match against North Carolina on Sept. 24, until Redmond connected in the first half against Miami on Oct. 15. Once Redmond scored, the flood gates opened as Duke scored four goals in the match. The Blue Devils came back to net two goals at Clemson and have scored 10 goals the last six matches.

During the scoreless streak, the Blue Devils were held scoreless for 329:44 minutes, the longest stretch this season and second longest in school history. The longest streak of futility was in 2006 when Miami, Wake Forest, Florida State, Louisville, and Tennessee kept Duke off the scoreboard for 405:22 minutes.

Spread The Wealth
A total of 12 Blue Devils have scored so far, eight of whom have multiple goals, while 13 student-athletes have posted one or more assists.

Injury Update
Duke will be without the services of senior Sara Murphy, freshman Callie Simpkins, freshman Kim DeCesare, junior Molly Lester and sophomore Ashley Rape for the 2009 season due to injuries. Sophomore goalkeeper Emily Nahas returned to the field against Miami after having missed two weeks of practice and games after suffering a leg injury. Junior Meaghan Fitzgerald has also been sidelined with a knee injury.

For Duke Women's Soccer on Twitter/Facebook
For the latest updates on Duke soccer make sure you follow "Dukews" on Twitter. Just head to https://twitter.com/Dukews and sign up now for free. Duke Women's Soccer also has its own Facebook page. Just search for Duke Women's Soccer and become a fan today.

All-Conference Honors
Senior midfielder Elisabeth Redmond was named First Team All-ACC while fellow senior forward KayAnne Gummersall was named Second Team All-ACC. Joining Gummersall on the second team was freshman goalie Tara Campbell, who also garnered All-Freshman honors. This is the 10th time in school history that a freshman has been named First or Second Team All-ACC. The last player to accomplish this was Casey McCluskey in 2001.

Lipp named Primetime Performer of the Week
Freshman midfielder Nicole Lipp was named a CollegeSoccer360.com Performer of the Week for her first two career goals in the victory over N.C. State on Nov. 1, which clinched the Blue Devils a tie for sixth place finish in the ACC. This is the second week in a row that a Blue Devil has received an honor from CS360 and fourth time overall this season.

Gummersall Collects ACC & National Honors
Senior forward KayAnne Gummersall was named ACC Co-Player of the Week on Oct. 27 for her role in the Blue Devils' victory over 13th-ranked Virginia Tech. Gummersall notched her first career hat trick in the win. This was the second week in a row that a Duke player has received this honor, fellow senior Elisabeth Redmond was awarded it the previous week, Oct. 20.

Gummersall was also named to the Soccer America Women's Team of the Week and a CollegeSoccer360.com Primetime Performers of the Week by leading Duke past the Hokies with her three goals. It is her second CS360 honor with the first coming from the week of September 21 after notching a goal with 1:03 remaining in the second half to tie the contest at 1-1 and send it into overtime at North Carolina.

Redmond Receives ACC Co-Player of the Week Award
Senior midfielder Elisabeth Redmond was named ACC Co-Player of the Week on Oct. 20 for her performances in the previous week. Against Miami, she scored the game-winning goal and assisted on the three other goals. Then at Clemson, she assisted on the game-winning goal. The win at Clemson broke a five-game losing streak against the Tigers as the Blue Devils had not won at Clemson since 1997.

Redmond was also named one of the CollegeSoccer360.com Primetime Performers of the Week with her one goal and four assists. It marked Duke's second honor received by CS360.

Overtime
Duke has registered another school record as the Blue Devils played in four straight overtime contests (against Auburn, LSU, North Carolina, and Wake Forest) prior to the Maryland match. The Blue Devils saw action in 424:06 minutes over the four matches, while scoring five goals and allowing five goals. Freshman Tara Campbell was in goal for the entire time and notched a 1.06 goals-against average, while totaling 17 saves. On the season, Duke has competed in six overtime matches.

Campbell Receives Soccer America Honor
Duke freshman goalkeeper Tara Campbell was named to the Soccer America National Team of the Week on Oct. 13, after registering eight saves against fifth-ranked Florida State in a 0-0 on Sunday, Oct. 11. Campbell came up big with eight saves, along with diving stops and was very aggressive on corner kicks to preserve her fourth shutout of the year. Campbell has led Duke to two ties against top 10 ranked opponents -- No. 9 Wake Forest and No. 5 Florida State -- while also taking top-ranked North Carolina to overtime before falling, 2-1.

In 15 matches played, Campbell has started all 15 contests, posted a 1.03 goals-against average and averaged 4.80 saves per match. She has seen action against six ranked opponents as a freshman. Her eight saves against FSU were the second-most of her career.

Church Nets 100th Career Win at Duke
In the victory at Clemson on Oct. 18, Head Coach Robbie Church posted his 100th career win at Duke in only nine years with the Blue Devils.

The Duke/Nike Classic
Three Blue Devils were awarded All-Tournament Team honors at the Duke/Nike Classic -- Tara Campbell, Elisabeth Redmond, and Cody Newman.

Preseason Awards Lists
Senior Elisabeth Redmond was named to the preseason MAC Hermann Trophy watch list, which is given to the top player in the country. She was also selected to the Soccer America All-America preseason Second Team.

The Head Coach
Robbie Church is in his ninth season with the Blue Devils and owns an overall record of 102-67-22 mark at Duke. His overall record as a head coach for men and women is 285-181-36 in 24 years, while his overall record as a women's head coach is 189-116-33 in 16 years.

The Captains
Blue Devil seniors KayAnne Gummersall, Elisabeth Redmond, Jane Alukonis and Sara Murphy are captains for the 2009 campaign.

- d - u - k - e -