Women's Soccer Set To Open ACC Slate At VT and Virginia This Week

DURHAM, N.C. ? Coming off hosting the annual Duke adidas Classic last weekend, the 22nd-ranked Duke Women's Soccer team will open the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) slate this week with matches at Virginia Tech on Thursday, Sept. 21 and at Virginia (5-2-1) on Sunday, Sept. 24.

The Blue Devils own a record of 4-3-1 and are trying to break out of a slump that has seen Duke lose two out of its last thee contests and post a tie in the other match. Last weekend, the Blue Devils lost, 1-0, to 18th-ranked Florida and then tied Marquette, 1-1, in two overtimes in the Duke adidas Classic.

Duke is led by seniors Rebecca Moros and Sarah McCabe along with freshman KayAnne Gummersall with three goals each on the year. In goal for the Blue Devils, junior Alison Lipsher has totaled a 0.91 goals against average in eight matches. The squad continues to play a number of freshmen and Head Coach Robbie Church continues to move players around trying to find the right lineup for the Blue Devils. Of Duke's five freshmen, which made up the third-best recruiting class in the nation, four of them have started three or more contests.

On Thursday, the Blue Devils will travel to Virginia Tech (4-2-1) for the first time in school history. Over the last two years, the Hokies have traveled to Durham, N.C. for the matches since joining the ACC. In 2004, the Blue Devils dominated Virginia Tech winning 9-3 and then last year Duke won 2-0. The match on Thursday is set to begin at 7:00 p.m.

In the series against Virginia, the Blue Devils have won the past two meetings, outscoring the Cavaliers 5-0 in the contests. In 2004, Duke shocked the third-ranked Cavaliers, 3-0, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Charlottesville, Va., and then last year the Blue Devils pulled out a 2-0 victory at home. The overall series is tied 10-10-5 with Duke posting a 2-5-2 record in matches played at Virginia.

Virginia is currently ranked eighth nationally, while the Blue Devils are 22nd. The contest will begin on Sunday at 2 p.m.

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