Blue Devils Post 0-0 Draw At Miami On Thursday

Thursday, October 23

Coral Gables, Fla.

7:00 p.m.

Duke University

11-3-2, 3-2-2

Miami

8-6-3, 1-4-2

OT 3

OT 4

#12/11 Duke

Miami

Duke & Boston College To Tangle In ACC Tournament Quarterfinals

Blue Devils Post 0-0 Draw At Miami On Thursday

10/23/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

By: Duke Sports Information

CORAL GABLES, Fla. ? Playing in its third straight Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) road contest, the ninth-ranked Duke women's soccer team traveled to Coral Gables, Fla., and came away with a 0-0 draw against the Miami Hurricanes on a rainy Thursday evening at Cobb Stadium.

With the tie, Duke moves to 13-3-2 overall and 3-2-2 in the ACC, while Miami is 8-6-3, 1-4-2.

“We are going through a tough little stretch right now,” said Duke Head Coach Robbie Church. “We worked hard, played hard and had plenty of chances to win. We sent a few shots at the goalkeeper high and she made some good saves.”

The Blue Devils held an 8-6 shot advantage in the first half but had to play the final 15 minutes of the first stanza without leading scorer Elisabeth Redmond, who went down with a leg injury off a Miami foul in the midfield. Leading Duke with 10 goals and 24 points, Redmond would not return to the match and will be evaluated more when the Blue Devils return to campus on Friday afternoon.

“I am proud of our girls as we battled through the injury to Elisabeth Redmond in the 30-minute mark and not returning,” said Church. “We moved players to different positions and some played in areas where they had not played all season long. I thought we did a good job of controlling the tempo of the game, but we didn't do a good job in the final third.”

Miami outshot the Blue Devils, 6-3, in the second half with all three attempts coming off the foot of junior Jane Alukonis.

In goal for the Blue Devils, senior Cassidy Powers posted her sixth shutout of the season along with four saves. Vicki Alonzo posted five saves in the net for the Hurricanes.

“The game was extremely physical,” said Church. “Miami has a very narrow, short field and the field was wet. It was a tough game to play. Their pressure defense really took us out of our rhythm of play. It is a frustrating tie.”

Duke outshot Miami, 6-2, in the two overtime periods. For the match, Duke was led by KayAnne Gummersall with five shots, while Alukonis added three and freshman Cody Newman chipped in two attempts. Miami was given three yellow cards on the evening and held a 12-11 lead in fouls.

The Blue Devils played the match with starting freshman defender Ashley Rape, who was injured during practice this past week.

Duke will next host Clemson in the final home regular season contest of the 2008 campaign on Sunday, Oct. 26 at 2:00 p.m., at Koskinen Stadium. Six Blue Devil seniors -- Lorraine Quinn, Powers, Kelly McCann, Kelly Hathorn, Christie McDonald and Sheila Kramer -- will all be honored prior to the match.

-d-u-k-e-