Blue Devils Blank FMU, 9-0, in Record-Setting Form

Thursday, September 2

Durham, N.C.

7:00 p.m.

Duke University

Francis Marion

Blue Devils Blank FMU, 9-0, in Record-Setting Form

9/2/2010 10:29:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. - The 15th-ranked Duke women's soccer team kicked off its 2010 home schedule on Thursday evening in record-setting fashion as the Blue Devils blanked Francis Marion, 9-0, at Koskinen Stadium.

Duke (3-1-0) started its scoring early and often with seven different Blue Devils putting the ball in the back of the net as the nine goals matched a school record. It marks the third time in Blue Devil history they have scored nine different times in a contest. The two other matches were against Monmouth on Oct. 15, 1989 and versus Virginia Tech on Oct. 17, 2004. The 9-0 win also matches the largest margin of victory in school history -- 9-0 against Monmouth as well.

"I thought the girls handled the situation really well," said Duke Head Coach Robbie Church. "These are not easy games to handle. We had such a hard start to our schedule so that is when we planned this -- we wanted to get a lot of players in the game. We have been playing a lot of players and I think it showed in their sharpness and crispness. It wasn't a lot of players who stepped on the field that haven't been on the field in tough games."

Standout freshman Mollie Pathman got things rolling in the first three minutes of the match for the Blue Devils as senior Gretchen Miller sent her a pass in the box and Pathman was able to beat the Patriot goalkeeper, Lauren Vetock, to the ball. A product of Durham, N.C., Pathman then had a wide open goal and then tapped in her first career tally.

After not scoring in her three-year career at Duke, senior Molly Lester added her team-best third goal of the season in the sixth minute off an assist from sophomore Nicole Lipp as she hit the left side of the net from 15 yards out.

In the 11th minute, Pathman posted her second goal of the match as she hit the right side of the net from 15 yards out. Pathman entered her freshman campaign at Duke following a senior year where she was named the Gatorade National High School Player of the Year.

During a span of 36 seconds in the 20th and 21st minutes, the Blue Devils put goals No. 4 and No. 5 on the board to take a 5-0 advantage. At the 20:56 mark, junior Chelsea Canepa headed in her eighth career goal off a perfect cross from Rebecca Allen. Duke freshman Avery Rape then registered her first career tally at the 21:32 mark as she headed in a cross from redshirt freshman Kim DeCesare.

The Blue Devils closed the first half with their sixth goal off the leg of redshirt freshman Callie Simpkins. Simpkins, who is from Concord, N.C., notched her second goal of the season off assists from Canepa and Pappas.

"We finished some really nice goals and it always helps their confidence seeing goals go in the back of the net," commented Church.

At the end of the first half, the Blue Devils outshot the Patriots, 20-1.

Duke came out of the second half with a new look, which included freshman Kaitlyn Kerr in the midfield. Kerr, one of the top recruits in the class of 2010 out of Bensalem, Pa., made her presence known early. With great footwork, Kerr beat the Patriot defense and used her right foot to place the ball in the right edge of the net for her first career goal.

"I saw an opening, tried to beat a few defenders and put it in the back of the net," commented Kerr on her first career goal.

Laura Weinberg, who also started the second half at the forward slot, added her second goal in as many matches in the 57th minute off an assist from Kerr to put Duke ahead 8-0.

After being limited in practice and games with a knee injury to start the season, Kerr added her second goal of the match in the 68th minute. Freshman Alex Straton booted a great feed down the right sideline to sophomore Erin Koballa. Koballa, a native of Wrightsville Beach, N.C., centered the ball to Kerr who hit the top right corner from 18 yards out.

"Every day I don't even know if I can play," said Kerr. "So everyday I come out here and do what I can with my knee and play. They allowed me to play 30 minutes straight today so I just gave what I could at 100 percent."

The Blue Devils went on to slow the game down and only attempted three shots over the final 22 minutes of action. Duke closed the match with a 9-0 victory and outshot Francis Marion, 29-3.

"It was neat -- you've got Kaitlyn, Mollie and Avery scoring their first career goals," said Church. "Laura got hers against Stanford. As you see, we are a deep team. If you look at our roster and the number of minutes we play -- we have played 20 players in almost every game. We have people that can play. It is the total opposite of what we had last year."

In goal for Duke, sophomore Tara Campbell played the first 45 minutes, while junior Emily Nahas was in the final 45. Neither Blue Devil faced a shot on goal. Vetock totaled five saves in 45 minutes in the first half and Casey Durham added four saves in the second half for the Patriots in goal.

"As we all know, there are going to be tougher games ahead," said Church. "I am very happy where we are at this point in the season. I am looking forward to going back out there on Sunday against High Point."

Duke will next host High Point (1-3) on Sunday night at 6:00 p.m., at Koskinen Stadium. It will be a part of a triple header with the Blue Devil men's soccer team. One ticket will get fans in for all three matches.

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