Clemson Upends Duke, 3-2, On Thursday In Women?s Soccer

Thursday, October 19

Durham, N.C.

7 p.m.

Duke University

7-6-2, 3-3-1ACC

Clemson

9-6-1, 4-3-1ACC

Clemson

Duke

Clemson Upends Duke, 3-2, On Thursday In Women?s Soccer

10/19/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C.-- Clemson scored three second half goals on its way to knocking off 23rd-ranked Duke, 3-2, in women's soccer action on Thursday at Koskinen Stadium in Durham, N.C. The Tigers improve to 9-6-1 overall and 4-3-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), while the Blue Devils fall to 7-6-2, 3-3-1 in the ACC.

“We worked really hard and had a great week of practice,” said Duke Head Coach Robbie Church. “I thought early in the match we were a little loose with our passes and were a little bit off. We got control of the game and scored the first goal. We had complete control of the game and didn't finish them [Clemson] out. We should have been up two or three [goals] at halftime and they [Clemson] would have been done.”

Duke came out in the first half and dominated the action as the Blue Devils held a 10-5 shot advantage. In the 23rd minute both freshman KayAnne Gummersall and senior Lauren Tippets came into the ball game and made their presence felt quickly-- just two minutes later.

Freshman Elisabeth Redmond sent a long feed to the right corner where Gummersall took the ball and beat a Clemson defender. Gummersall, a product of Wilmette, Ill., drove to the goal and sent a cross to Tippets who collected her second goal of the season, from in front of the goal.

As the half came to a close, the Blue Devils had two other excellent scoring opportunities as sophomore Lorraine Quinn fired a shot at the goal that was saved by Tiger goalkeeper Ashley Phillips in the 39th minute. In the next 60 seconds, Tippets fired a corner kick into the box where Gummersall headed the ball at the goal, which was blocked by a Blue Devil. Freshman CJ Ludemann then had a shot on goal that was saved by Clemson defender Amber Funk.

Clemson came out of the gates on the attack in the second half as the Tigers evened the match, 1-1, at the 46:18 mark. Meghan Smith crossed the ball to Molly Franklin, who rolled it in from 15 yards into the right corner.

“We made some critical decisions and mistakes at certain points of the game,” said Church. “Everytime we made a mistake they buried it. We created opportunities, did some very nice things offensively, but could never could get the goal to eliminate them. We ended up making mistakes when we let them hang around.”

Duke didn't let down after the Clemson goal as Sarah McCabe drove down the right side in the 59th minute and fired a shot just high over the crossbar. Then three minutes later McCabe got another opportunity off a feed from Redmond and collected her fifth goal of the season by beating the Tiger keeper. McCabe, who is from Sarasota, Fla., moved into a tie for sixth place on Duke's all-time goal scored list with 24 with the tally. She also moved into tied for 10th on the Blue Devil all-time points chart with 55 over her four years.

With the Blue Devils holding its second lead of the night, Duke fouled Clemson 22 yards from the goal line. Elizabeth Jobe took a free kick that went just left of the Blue Devil wall and into the goal to once again even the match.

Quinn nearly got the Blue Devils back in the lead at the 76:38 mark as she blasted a shot at the middle of the goal, but Phillips was able to get one hand on the ball to push it over the crossbar.

Clemson then caught the Blue Devils on a breakdown in the back as Meghan Smith beat a Duke defender and sent the ball to Julie Bolt who notched her third goal of the season and gave the Tigers a 3-2 lead at the 83:43 mark.

“It was an improvement to get two goals scored, but we have to make sure after we get those goals there is not a letdown,” said Tippets.

Duke registered three final shots by senior Rebecca Moros, Redmond and Quinn but couldn't even the match. For the game, the Blue Devils outshot the Tigers, 22-9. Clemson has now won the past eight straight contests against Duke and the Blue Devils have not defeated the Tigers since 2000.

“We took a lot of shots that went wide,” said Church. “It is very frustrating. This is a tough group of girls and we will be back. We will be back and we have one more home game. It is a special game with a special group of seniors. We have to be prepared for that game.”

In goal for the Blue Devils, junior Allison Lipsher had three saves, which were all in the first half, while Phillips finished with nine saves. Duke has lost two out of the last three contests and have been outscored 6-2 during that stretch.

Duke will next host third-ranked Florida State on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. The contest will mark senior night for nine Blue Devil seniors, who will play their final regular season home contest of their career at Koskinen Stadium.

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