Duke Hosts Virginia in Key League Contest Thursday

10/21/2009 12:45:00 PM | Women's Soccer

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. - The Blue Devil women's soccer team (6-5-4, 2-2-1 ACC) return to the friendly confines of Koskinen Stadium to face Virginia (6-5-3) on Thursday, Oct. 22 at 7:00 p.m., as the Blue Devils will play their final two home regular season contests this week.

The Blue Devils hit the road for their last match, coming away from Clemson with a 2-0 victory. Following the Virginia match, Duke will play its final home match on Sunday, Oct. 25 against Virginia Tech at 3:00 p.m., which will mark senior day for Jane Alukonis, KayAnne Gummersall, Sara Murphy and Elisabeth Redmond.

A Look at the Opponent
Virginia enters Sunday's match with a 6-5-3 (1-4-1 ACC) record. The Cavaliers are led by Meghan Lenczyk and Jess Rostedt with six goals, three assists and six goals, one assist, respectively. This is Virginia's seventh ACC match as the Cavaliers are coming off a loss on the road to second-ranked North Carolina (2-1 in overtime) in their last outing.

The Series
This will be the 30th installment of the series, with the series record currently standing at 12-11-6 in favor of Virginia. The last outing was a 2-0 win in the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen on November 22, 2008 for the Blue Devils in Charlottesville, Va. The last time the Cavaliers won at Koskinen Stadium was a 2-0 victory on September 27, 2007. Virginia is 4-5-3 all time at Koskinen Stadium.

In The Rankings
Both teams are unranked in the national polls.

Church Nets 100th Career Win at Duke
In the last victory at Clemson, Head Coach Robbie Church posted his 100th career win at Duke in only nine years with the Blue Devils.

Redmond Receives ACC Co-Player of the Week Award
Senior midfielder Elisabeth Redmond was named ACC Co-Player of the Week on Tuesday for her performances last week. Against Miami, she scored the game-winning goal and assisted on the three other goals. Then at Clemson, she assisted on the game-winning goal. The win at Clemson broke a five-game losing streak against the Tigers as the Blue Devils had not won at Clemson since 1997.

Redmond was also named one of the CollegeSoccer360.com Primetime Performers of the Week with her one goal and four assists. It marked Duke's second honor received by CS360.

New Formations
In an effort to slow down Florida State's high powered offense, the Blue Devils switched from their normal 4-3-3 formation to a more defensive 4-4-2 formation. Due to this change and outstanding goalkeeping from Campbell, who bounced back with a strong performance after the Maryland loss, Duke was able to prevent Florida State from putting the ball in the back of the net. The defensive effort continued throughout the Miami and Clemson contests as the team held the Hurricanes and Cavaliers to 28 shots and no goals. Since implementing the formation change, Duke has scored six goals in three games, all of them coming in the past two games.

At Home and on the Road
Duke is 1-2-1 on the road, with the most recent contest being a win over Clemson. The Blue Devils are 5-1-3 this season at home, and 20-6-3 over the past three years at Koskinen Stadium. Duke has scored 22 goals and allowed seven goals at home this year.

In The ACC Stats
Duke senior Elisabeth Redmond is first in the ACC in assists and assists per game with 10 and a 0.71 average, respectively. Sophomore Cody Newman also ranks tied for fourth with six assists and tied for eighth in assists per game with a 0.43 average. Redmond is also first in shots per game and second in total shots with a 4.43 average and 62, respectively. Senior KayAnne Gummersall is seventh in shots (46), ninth in shots per game (3.07 average), tied for seventh in points (20) and points per game (1.33 average), tied for seventh in goals (8), and tied for eighth in goals per game (0.53 average). Freshman Tara Campbell is second in saves (62) and first in saves per game with a 4.77 average. Her goals against average of 1.04 is currently ninth.

Tough Defense
Duke has only allowed six goals in the first half this season and only 15 total goals in 15 matches. The defense has allowed 91 total shots at home so far this season. Sophomore Emily Nahas and freshman Tara Campbell have each seen time in the net, while the combination of Gretchen Miller, Nicole Lipp, Maddy Haller, Erin Koballa, Molly Mack, and Libby Jandl have all played well in the back.

Current Shutout Streak
The Blue Devils have not conceded a goal in the last 290:00 minutes of play. In that stretch of games, the team has blanked then fifth-ranked Florida State, Miami, and Clemson.

Starting Freshmen
So far, Duke has started five freshmen - Campbell, Lipp, Haller, Koballa, and Jandl -- this season. Campbell, a goalkeeper from Cincinnati, Ohio, has started 13 of the 15 matches and currently holds a 1.04 goals against average in addition to an assist. Lipp, a defender hailing from Lake Forest, Ill., currently has one assist while having played the third most minutes on the team while anchoring the center of the back line and controlling the center of midfield. Haller, a defender from South Salem, N.Y., has picked up two assists and has played in all 15 matches, starting 13 while playing outside back. Koballa, a defender from Wrightsville Beach, N.C., has started all 15 matches at outside back and currently is fourth on the team in minutes played. Jandl, a defender from Mission Hills, Kansas, started her first collegiate game against Florida State, has one goal and one assist and seen action in 13 contests starting in three. She is coming off posting her first career goal on her first career shot against Miami on Oct. 15.

Scoring Blue Devils
Of the 28 goals Duke has netted through 15 matches, 18 of those have come during the first half of play. The duo of seniors KayAnne Gummersall and Elisabeth Redmond continue their torrid offensive play with eight goals, four assists and three goals, 10 assists, respectively. Gummersall currently leads the team with eight goals, five of which have been headers, while Redmond leads the squad with her nine assists, followed by sophomore Cody Newman with six. Sophomore Chelsea Canepa owns five goals and had a streak of three consecutive contests with at least one goal, scoring against Florida, Alabama A&M, and LSU.

Shooting Spree
Through the first 12 games on the season, Duke registered a total of 234 shots. The 234 shots through the first 12 contests are the second-most in school history. In 1989, the Blue Devils attempted 285 shots in the opening 12 matches. So far this year, Duke has attempted 30 or more shots in three of the 13 matches.

Struggling to Score -- No More
Duke had not scored a goal since Gummersall's tally to tie the match against North Carolina on Sept. 24, until Redmond connected in the first half against Miami on Oct. 15. Once Redmond scored, the flood gates opened as Duke scored four goals in the match. The Blue Devils came back to net two goals at Clemson and have scored six goals the last two matches.

During the streak, the Blue Devils were held scoreless for 329:44 minutes, the longest stretch this season and second longest in school history. The longest streak of futility was in 2006 when Miami, Wake Forest, Florida State, Louisville, and Tennessee kept Duke off the scoreboard for 405:22 minutes.

Spread The Wealth
A total of 10 Blue Devils have scored so far, seven of whom have multiple goals, while 13 student-athletes have posted one or more assists.

Injury Update
Duke will be without the services of senior Sara Murphy, freshman Callie Simpkins, freshman Kim DeCesare, junior Molly Lester and sophomore Ashley Rape for the 2009 season due to injuries. Sophomore goalkeeper Emily Nahas returned to the field against Miami after having missed the last two weeks of practice and games after suffering a leg injury. Junior Meaghan Fitzgerald has also been sidelined with a knee injury.

For Duke Women's Soccer on Twitter/Facebook
For the latest updates on Duke soccer make sure you follow "Dukews" on Twitter. Just head to https://twitter.com/Dukews and sign up now for free. Duke Women's Soccer also has its own Facebook page. Just search for Duke Women's Soccer and become a fan today.

The Record Book
Senior KayAnne Gummersall owns 31 career goals and is currently in fourth place. Her 73 points has moved her into a tie for sixth place on Duke's all-time list and is five away from fifth. Senior Elisabeth Redmond owns 33 career assists to rank second on the Blue Devil charts and is nine away from Andi Melde's record of 42. Her 26 goals ranks seventh on Duke's list. Redmond owns 85 career points, which is fourth all-time for the Blue Devils, three behind third place Andi Melde. With 257 shots in four years, Redmond ranks second at Duke. Both Redmond and Gummersall are also in the top five for most game-winning goals. Redmond is third with 14, three behind Casey McCluskey, and Gummersall is tied for fourth with 10.

Overtime
Duke has registered another school record as the Blue Devils played in four straight overtime contests (against Auburn, LSU, North Carolina, and Wake Forest) prior to the Maryland match. The Blue Devils saw action in 424:06 minutes over the four matches, while scoring five goals and allowing five goals. Freshman Tara Campbell was in goal for the entire time and notched a 1.06 goals-against average, while totaling 17 saves. On the season, Duke has competed in six overtime matches.

Campbell Receives Soccer America Honor
Duke freshman goalkeeper Tara Campbell was named to the Soccer America National Team of the Week on Oct. 13, after registering eight saves against fifth-ranked Florida State in a 0-0 on Sunday, Oct. 11. Campbell came up big with eight saves, along with diving stops and was very aggressive on corner kicks to preserve her fourth shutout of the year. Campbell has led Duke to two ties against top 10 ranked opponents -- No. 9 Wake Forest and No. 5 Florida State -- while also taking top-ranked North Carolina to overtime before falling, 2-1.

In 12 matches played, Campbell has started all 12 contests, posted a 1.12 goals-against average and averaged 4.83 saves per match. She has seen action against five ranked opponents as a freshman. Her eight saves against FSU were the second-most of her career.

Gummersall Nets Honor
Senior KayAnne Gummersall was named one of CS360's Primetime Performers of the Week of September 21 after notching a goal with 1:03 remaining in the second half to tie the contest at 1-1 and send it into overtime at North Carolina. Her goal was a team-best sixth of the season and 29th of her career.

The Duke/Nike Classic
Three Blue Devils were awarded All-Tournament Team honors at the Duke/Nike Classic -- Tara Campbell, Elisabeth Redmond, and Cody Newman.

Preseason Awards Lists
Redmond was named to the preseason MAC Hermann Trophy watch list, which is given to the top player in the country. She was also selected to the Soccer America All-America preseason Second Team.

The Head Coach
Robbie Church is in his ninth season with the Blue Devils and owns an overall record of 100-64-22 mark at Duke. His overall record as a head coach for men and women is 283-178-36 in 24 years, while his overall record as a women's head coach is 187-113-33 in 16 years.

The Captains
Blue Devil seniors KayAnne Gummersall, Elisabeth Redmond, Jane Alukonis and Sara Murphy are captains for the 2009 campaign.

- d - u - k - e -