Duke Women's Soccer Travels to UCLA For Sweet 16 Match-up On Saturday

11/18/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer

By: Duke Sports Information

Nov. 18, 2004

2004 NCAA Tournament
#15 Duke (15-7) at #10 UCLA (15-6)
Nov. 20, 2004  7:00 PM
Drake Stadium  Los Angeles, Calif.

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Duke Travels To UCLA For Sweet 16 Match-up...

After picking up one of the biggest victories in school history last weekend, the 15th-ranked Duke women's soccer team will travel to Los Angeles, Calif., for a 7:00 p.m. (EST) contest at 10th-ranked and 14th-seeded UCLA at Drake Stadium.

The Blue Devils knocked off second-ranked and third-seeded Virginia, 3-0, in Charlottesville, Va., to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1996. The winner of the Duke/UCLA match will advance to the NCAA quarterfinals to face the winner of the sixth-seeded Ohio State versus 11th-seeded Tennessee match.

Fans unable to attend Saturday's match can follow at home by either listening over the internet at www.uclabruins.com or by following the live stats. Both links will be available inside the College Cup Central box located on the front page of the UCLA website.

In The Rankings...

Duke is ranked 19th in the latest Soccer Buzz, 15th in the SoccerTimes.com, 18th in the NSCAA and 20th in the Soccer America polls. UCLA is ranked 10th in the Soccer America, 11th in the NSCAA, 11th in the Soccer Buzz and 10th in the SoccerTimes.com polls.

The Series...

Duke and UCLA will meet for the third time in school history, but the first in NCAA Tournament action. The series is tied at 1-1 as the Blue Devils won the first meeting in 1996 at the Carolina Classic, 2-1, while UCLA defeated Duke last season in the Duke adidas Classic, 2-1.

A Look At UCLA...

UCLA will be playing their third straight home NCAA Tournament game after defeating Pepperdine, 1-0, and San Diego, 3-0, in the first two rounds. The Bruins have advanced to the College Cup in 2000 and 2003.

Duke In the NCAA Tournament...

Duke is making its 11th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and for the first time since 1996 advanced past the second round of the tournament. With the win against Virginia, it broke a string of seven straight losses in the first or second round. In its first NCAA appearance in 1992, Duke advanced to the NCAA Championship game, but lost to North Carolina (9-1).

The Sweet 16 appearance is the fourth for the Blue Devils.

Blue Devils Return Home...

Duke boasts five players on the roster from California and each will be able to travel to their home state to play a game as a Blue Devil for the first time in their careers.

Junior Carly O'Connor (Kentfield, Calif.), sophomore Darby Kroyer (San Ramon, Calif.), sophomore Rachel-Rose Cohen (San Diego, Calif.), junior Shelly Marshall (Arcadia, Calif.) and sophomore Lauren Tippets (Menlo Park, Calif.) will each travel home this weekend.

Notes...

Senior Casey McCluskey has tied the Duke single-season record for most points (40) ... Carolyn Riggs has scored six goals over the last seven games ... six Blue Devils have started all 22 matches this season-- McCluskey, Rebecca Moros, Carolyn Ford, Lorraine Quinn, Heidi Hollenbeck and Rachel-Rose Cohen ... Duke needs two more goals to tied the single season record for most goals ... Riggs has scored eight or more goals in each of her first three years at Duke ... Kate Seibert's game-winning goal against Virginia was the first of the season for the defender.

McCabe Battles Through Injury...

Sophomore Sarah McCabe suffered a hip flexor injury against Wake Forest in the first round of the ACC Tournament and was not able to play against North Carolina in the semifinals. She battled back from the injury to score in each of the first two NCAA Tournament games, off the bench.

On the season, McCabe has scored a career-best nine goals and assisted on four others for 22 points.