Women's Soccer Nets Key ACC Road Win at Virginia Tech

Sunday, October 17

Blacksburg, Va.

5:00 p.m.

Duke University

Virginia Tech

Women's Soccer Nets Key ACC Road Win at Virginia Tech

10/17/2010 9:18:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

By: Duke Sports Information

BLACKSBURG, Va. - In search of a key road Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) victory, the 23rd-ranked Duke women's soccer team downed 25th-ranked Virginia Tech, 3-0, on Sunday evening at Thompson Field in Blacksburg, Va.

Duke jumped out to an early 1-0 lead as in the sixth minute miscommunication between the Virginia Tech defense and its goalkeeper resulted in an own goal off a shot from freshman Laura Weinberg. The Blue Devils went on to dominate play in the first half as Duke held a 7-3 shot advantage.

"We needed this win very desperately," said Duke Head Coach Robbie Church. "It was great. I am just very proud of the girls. It has been a tough month or so, but the girls hung in there, played hard and trained hard. Today the first goal was key."

At the end of the first 45 minutes, the score remained 1-0 in favor of the Blue Devils.

"We moved the ball well, changed the point of attack and had good speed of play," said Church. "We didn't turn the ball over and defended really well as a group. Tara [Campbell] came up with a really big save in the first half to keep it 1-0."

Virginia Tech came out in the second half and took two of the first three shots but it was the Blue Devils who registered an insurance goal in the 68th minute. The ball was deflected off a Tech defender's shoulder and Duke redshirt freshman Callie Simpkins controlled the loose ball, and with a clear view of the net, put the close-range shot away for the 2-0 lead. Simpkins, who is from Concord, N.C., registered her fourth goal of the year after missing the entire 2009 season with a knee injury.

In the 82nd minute the Blue Devils struck again, as freshman Mollie Pathman found the back of the opposite side of the net from 10 yards out after receiving the ball from freshman Natasha Anasi. Pathman, a native of Durham, N.C., now owns six goals on the year, which is tied for the team lead.

The score would stand for the remainder of the game, and the Blue Devils would finish the match outshooting the Hokies 12-6, 8-2 on target. Eight different players attempted shots on the night with junior Chelsea Canepa leading Duke with three, while senior Molly Lester and Weinberg added two each.

"I am obviously very proud because we have lost the last two road games in the last 10 minutes," said Church. "For us to reverse that and score two goals in the second half, I think that was really big for us. Not only for this game to put icing on the cake but as we move forward in our final three games against some very good teams. It was really big that we can see that we can score in the second half and finish people off."

For the Blue Devils, Tara Campbell earned the win in goal and finished the evening making two saves in 90 minutes of action. Dayle Colpitts saw 85 minutes of play in goal for Tech and made three saves in the match. Colpitts was relieved by Rebekah Brook, who made two saves in her five minutes of playing time.

"We played a full 90 minutes today against a very good Virginia Tech team -- that is something that we have been talking about and at times we haven't been able to do," commented Church. "To come on their field and win like this, I am very proud of our girls."

Virginia Tech was shutout for only the second time this season and the loss for the Hokies snapped a three-game winning streak. Duke netted a shutout for the first time since Sept. 19 against Middle Tennessee.

With the victory, Duke improves to 8-5-3 overall and 2-4-1 in ACC action. Virginia Tech falls to 8-6-1, 2-3-1.

Duke has concluded its road part of the 2010 schedule as the Blue Devils will host Boston College on Thursday, Oct. 21 at 7:00 p.m., followed by taking on N.C. State on Sunday, Oct. 24 at 6:00 p.m., and North Carolina on Thursday, Oct. 28 at 7:00 p.m. All three matches will be played at Koskinen Stadium and tickets can be purchased by heading to www.GoDuke.com or calling the Duke Ticket Office at (919) 681-BLUE (2583) or call (877) 375-3853.

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