Duke & UCLA To Battle For Final Four Bid On Saturday In Los Angeles

Duke & Boston College To Tangle In ACC Tournament Quarterfinals

Duke & UCLA To Battle For Final Four Bid On Saturday In Los Angeles

11/27/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. ?? The 2008 NCAA College Cup action returns this weekend as the 15th-ranked and third-seeded Duke women's soccer team (15-5-3, 4-3-3 ACC) travels cross country to meet second-ranked and top-seeded UCLA (21-0-2, 9-0-0 Pac-10) on Saturday, Nov. 29 at 7:00 p.m. (PST), at Drake Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif. This Elite Eight appearance will be Duke's fifth in program history and its second in the last two years.

Duke In the NCAA College Cup
In earning an at-large berth into the NCAA College Cup, the Blue Devils have reached the big show for the sixth straight season and 15 overall times. Just a season ago, the Blue Devils dispatched South Carolina, Georgia, and Indiana en route to a place in the Elite Eight before falling to perennial powerhouse Notre Dame, 3-2. Duke has won at least one contest in the tournament in each of its last seven appearances. The only time Duke has reached the NCAA Championship game was back in 1992. All time, the Blue Devils hold a record of 19-14 in the NCAA College Cup. In this year's tournament, Duke has now registered three wins; one against Radford (5-1), another against William & Mary (1-0) and a third against Virginia (2-0).

A Look at the Opponent
The UCLA Bruins enter play boasting an overall record of 21-0-2 and a 9-0-0 mark in the Pac-10. UCLA's path to the Elite Eight was marked by victories over Fresno State (5-0), San Diego (1-0) and a Sweet Sixteen win over the defending NCAA Champion University of Southern California (1-0). In this year's installment of the College Cup, UCLA is led by four McCall Zerboni goals, three of which came in the opening round match against Fresno State. In holding the USC Women of Troy to zero goals, the Bruins registered their school-record breaking 19th shutout in just 23 matches this season. UCLA has been an offensive powerhouse in 2008, notching 54 goals and outshooting opponents by a margin of 457-182. The top two contributors are a pair of junior forwards: Lauren Cheney (10 goals, 8 assists) and Kristina Larsen (11 goals, 4 assists). The defense has been virtually impenetrable. The Bruins have allowed just four goals over the course of 23 matches and have posted 19 shutouts over that same span. In net is redshirt senior Ashley Thompson who has played 2012 minutes on the season and owns a 0.18 goals against average. This will be head coach Jillian Ellis' 10th season of an already impressive career at UCLA. She has led the Bruins to six NCAA tournament appearances (five straight) and three trips to the championship match.

The Series
UCLA holds a 2-1 advantage in the three all-time match ups between the two schools. The most recent meeting was in the Sweet Sixteen round of the 2004 College Cup. The Blue Devils lost the match by a score of 0-2, which was played in Los Angeles. Lorraine Quinn registered one of the seven Duke shots in the game compared to the 13 shots fired by the Bruins. Saturday's game will be just the second time Duke has played UCLA in Los Angeles. The Blue Devils won the first meeting in 1996, 2-1.

In The Rankings
Final regular season rankings place Duke at 15th in the Soccer Buzz, 22nd in the Soccer America and 17th in the SoccerTimes.com and 18th in the NSCAA/adidas polls. UCLA was ranked second by the Soccer Buzz, NSCAA, SoccerTimes.com and Soccer America polls.

Last Game
Duke is coming off a 2-0 Sweet Sixteen victory over the Virginia Cavilers in a match that was held on hostile turf in Charlottesville, Va. The Blue Devils produced two goals on just four shots as opposed to the Cavilers who were unable to capitalize on any of their 15 shots. KayAnne Gummersall got the scoring started in the 17th minute off of a cross from senior Lorraine Quinn. Elizabeth Redmond added an unassisted goal in the 65th minute to put the game out of reach. Head coach Robbie Church played seven of his starters all 90 minutes of the match while freshman Cody Newman saw a significant 57 minutes off the bench.

Powers & McCann Return To Home State
Duke seniors Cassidy Powers and Kelly McCann will return to their home state of California this week as they play at UCLA. Powers is from San Ramon, Calif., while McCann is out of Carlsbad, Calif.

In The ACC Stats
Duke rebounded from its recent scoring slump and continues to rank in the top third of most categories within the ACC -- points (3rd, 155), goals (3rd, 53), assists (4th, 49), and shutouts (t-3rd, 13). As for individual stats, Elisabeth Redmond ranks tied for third in shots (71), tied for fifth in points (28), tied for fifth in goals (12), and shares fourth place in the category of game-winning goals (5). KayAnne Gummersall ranks third in points (32), third in points per game (1.39), tied for fourth in game-winning goals (5), and fourth in goals (14). Goalkeeper Cassidy Powers is sixth in saves (70), tied for fourth in shutouts (9) and third in goals-against average (0.80).

ACC Still Alive
Three teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is still alive in the NCAA College Cup -- North Carolina, Florida State and Duke.

High Scoring Offense
Duke opened the season with a school-record 17 goals over the first four contests and has totaled 53 tallies over 23 matches. Last year, Duke registered 34 goals in 23 games and in 2006 the Blue Devils scored 29 goals in 21 matches. The Blue Devils tied a school-record to open the season with nine goals in a win over Coastal Carolina and their 53 goals on the season are fifth most in single season Duke history. Duke's scoring offense of 2.30 goals per game currently ranks 18th nationally and the Blue Devils have posted a 347-232 shot advantage on the season. The Blue Devils own a 0.565 shutouts per game average which ranks 19th nationally. All NCAA stats are through games of 11/09.

Duke has notched 10 matches with three or more goals in 2008, as compared to four all of last year. In the match against Dayton, Duke registered three goals in a span of three minutes and 52 seconds, which was the fifth-quickest interval for three goals in Duke women's soccer history.

Stellar Defense
The strong Duke defense which closed out the regular season carried over into the NCAA College Cup. The Blue Devils have allowed just three goals over the course of the last eight games, shutting out opponents in five of these contests. Overall, Duke owns a school-record 13 shutouts on the season.

In The NCAA Stats
Of all teams in Division I women's soccer, Duke ranks 18th and 19th in scoring offense and shutout percentage, respectively. Cassidy Powers is 51st among all goalkeepers with a 0.805 goals-against average while KayAnne Gummersall is 44th in goals per game (0.609). UCLA is all about defense: first nationally in goals against average (0.169), shutout percentage (0.826) and save percentage (0.953). Bruin goalkeeper, Ashley Thompson, is the best in the nation in the categories of goals against average (0.179) and save percentage (0.949).

Spread The Wealth
A total of 12 Blue Devils have scored at least one goal this season, while 17 student-athletes have posted one or more assists.

Honors
KayAnne Gummersall was named to the Team of the Season (3rd team) by TopDrawerSoccer.com while freshmen Ashley Rape and Cody Newman were both named Rookies of the Season (2nd team).

The Record Book
After three rounds of the NCAA College Cup, Elisabeth Redmond now holds 69 points on her career. Her point total ranks sixth all-time and is just two points shy of Carolyn Riggs' total for fifth. Redmond also owns 23 assists, and ranks tied for second on Duke's all-time assist charts along with Kelly Walbert. Her 12 regular season goals are a career best and eighth on Duke's single-season scoring list.

KayAnne Gummersall's 14 goals on the season is tied for the fourth most in single-season school history and her nine career game-winning goals are tied for fifth all-time. Gummersall also has recorded a total of 32 points this season which is tied for fifth all-time.

Cassidy Powers has tied a school record with nine shutouts on the season, while Duke's 13 shutouts as a team is a new school record.

The tandem of Gummersall and Redmond are the most prolific scoring duo in single season school history with 26 goals between them in 2008.

Injury Update
The Blue Devils have been without junior defender Sara Murphy, freshman Molly Mack and freshman Sonja Sahlsten for the entirety of the regular season and will be without them for the 2008 NCAA College Cup due to season-ending injuries. Freshman Ashley Rape tore her ACL prior to the Miami contest on Oct. 23 and will miss the rest of the season.

The Head Coach
Robbie Church is in his eighth season with the Blue Devils and owns an overall record of 94-59-19 mark at Duke. His overall record as head coach for men and women is 277-173-33 in 23 years, while his overall record as women's head coach is 181-108-30 in 15 years.

The Captains
Blue Devil seniors Kelly Hathorn and Kelly McCann are the co-captains for the 2008

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