Powers, Duke Collect A 3-0 Shutout Win Over N.C. State

Sunday, September 28

Durham, N.C.

2:00 p.m.

Duke University

9-1-1, 1-0-1ACC

N.C. State

8-3-0, 0-1-0ACC

N.C. State

#9 Duke

Powers, Duke Collect A 3-0 Shutout Win Over N.C. State

9/28/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. ? The ninth-ranked Duke women's soccer team registered its first Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) victory of the 2008 campaign on Sunday as the Blue Devils shutout N.C. State, 3-0, at Koskinen Stadium in Durham, N.C.

Senior Cassidy Powers notched her fourth shutout of the season and Duke's defense extended its streak to school-record 650 minutes without allowing a goal at home this season. With the victory, the Blue Devils improve to 9-1-1 overall and 1-0-1 in ACC play, while the Wolfpack fell to 8-3-0, 0-1-0.

“Our goal for the week was to obviously get two wins,” said Duke Head Coach Robbie Church. “That is six points -- three points for a win and one point for a tie. So we got four out of six this week and that is not bad. That will put us towards the top of the ACC, which is obviously where we want to be.”

Duke jumped out on the attack from the start of the match taking seven out of the first eight shots until Blue Devil junior KayAnne Gummersall connected on her seventh goal of the season, off an assist from freshman Ashley Rape, to give Duke a 1-0 lead.

Towards the end of the first half, the N.C. State defense kicked a ball back to the Wolfpack goalkeeper Kim Kern, but Blue Devil sophomore Carey Goodman made a terrific hustle play to beat both the goalkeeper and defender to the ball. Goodman, who is from Greensboro, N.C., slid and kicked the ball past Kern for her first goal of the season.

At the end of the first stanza, Duke held a 13-4 shot advantage and Powers posted two of her three saves.

The Duke defense continued to play stellar in the second half allowing only two shots, while Duke added one more goal in the 75th minute. Gummersall won the ball and sent a great pass to a streaking freshman Cody Newman, who won a one-on-one challenge with Kern.

Newman, a product of Bellerose, N.Y., notched her fourth goal of the season with the tally.

“It felt really good,” said Newman about scoring her first ACC goal. “I felt like I wanted it this whole game. I kept going at them and in the second half I wasn't as successful playing -- I let her [NCSU defender] get into my head a little bit. So I was happy I was able to break through, finish it and get a 3-0 lead.”

For the match, Duke dominated the shot category with a 22-6 advantage. The Blue Devils also posted a 6-2 lead in corner kicks. Gummersall led Duke with four shots, while Newman added three attempts. A total of 19 Blue Devils saw action in Sunday's contest.

“I have been really complimenting our defense all year,” said Church. “I didn't think we were sharp defensively but anytime we had a breakdown Cassidy came up with saves. She had probably more action this afternoon than she has had. Our defenders have had a great year and played well. I just thought we were a little slow in the back today.”

A native of San Ramon, Calif., Powers finished the match with three saves in 90 minutes. She now owns a 0.58 goals-against average in 11 contests this season, after seeing action in only five games her first three years at Duke.

“It was a tough game to come back after Thursday night,” said Church. “We played 110 minutes, we felt like we should have won the game, we didn't get the win -- so we were a little mentally down. It was a Sunday afternoon game that you just have to gut out a little bit. As the game progressed, we got better and better.”

Duke will next host arch-rival North Carolina on Thursday, Oct. 2 at 8:00 p.m. The contest will be televised live on the Fox Soccer Channel. The first 100 fans in attendance will receive a free pair of crocs and all money collected at the gate will go towards The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The fundraiser was organized by Duke senior defender Sheila Kramer.

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