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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The eighth-ranked Duke women's soccer team scored early, but could not maintain the lead as the 24th-ranked Kentucky Wildcats played the Blue Devils to a 2-2 tie on the final day of the Nike Carolina Classic at Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Duke (3-0-1) jumped off to a 1-0 lead just six minutes into the match as sophomore Carolyn Ford found sophomore Kate Seibert off a free kick for her second goal in as many games. A Downington, Pa., product, Seibert was able to muscle a header past Kentucky goalkeeper Anne Ogundele for her second career goal.
The Blue Devils were able to control the match for the rest of the first half outshooting the Wildcats 8-3 in the first 45 minutes. Kentucky came out in the second half and evened the score, 1-1, as Elizabeth Ramsey connected on her third goal of the season off assists from Jessica Laswell and Jamie Hutchison in the 73rd minute. Duke didn't let down after the goal as the Blue Devils came back just 23 second later and took a 2-1 lead as Ford scored off a free kick from 25 yards out. The goal for Ford, a Bethesda, Md., native, was her first of the season and third of her career.
Kentucky (2-1-1) once again tied up the score at the 79:19 mark as Jamie Hutchison found Laswell off a corner kick for a header, which beat Duke goalkeeper Kate Straka. Both teams had chances to win the contest in regulation and overtime, but neither were able to capitalize. At the end of regulation, Duke sophomore Carolyn Riggs had an opportunity in front of the goal, but wasn't able to bend the ball around as the ball sailed off left.
In the first overtime, it was all Kentucky as the Wildcats outshot the Blue Devils 5-0 and had their best scoring chance at the 97:47 mark as Laswell fired a shot which hit the crossbar and then Heather Saas had a shot blocked by the Duke defense.
Duke came out in the second overtime and made a rally of its own as senior Gwendolyn Oxenham had a shot that was saved by Ogundele and then Seibert rebounded the ball and fired a shot which went just right of the goal.
For the game, Duke outshot Kentucky 17-15. In goal for the Blue Devils, Straka made her first start of the season and finished with five saves.
The Blue Devils will next play in the Wake Forest adidas Tournament on Sept. 12 and 14 in Winston-Salem, N.C. Duke will take on Oregon State on Friday at 5:00 p.m. and then battle Washington State on Sunday at 11:30 a.m.
Duke Head Coach Robbie Church
"We are disappointed with a tie and feel lucky with the tie at the same time. This was our first Friday/Sunday-late night, early morning game. I thought we prepared ourselves really well. I give the girls a lot of credit and came out ready to play getting an early goal. I thought in the second half we lost concentration, focus and showed some of our."
"We have to realize that we are a good team and teams are going to come at us for the entire 90 minutes. This is a new role for us to be in and maybe we didn't handle it well on our first test, especially in the second half. We will learn from it, get better and grow from it at this point."
Nike Carolina Classic All-Tournament team
Tournament MVP
Lori Chalupny, MF, UNC
All-Tournament Team
Carmen Bognano, MF, Duke
Lori Chalupny, MF, UNC
Carolyn Ford, D, Duke
Christy Harms, D, Nebraska
Jamie Hutchinson, D, Kentucky
Jessica Laswell, D, Kentucky
Jessica Maxwell, D, UNC
Kate Seibert, D, Duke
Lindsay Tarpley, F, UNC
Carmen Watley, D, UNC
Kacey White, MF, UNC
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