Duke Opens ACC Tournament Play Wednesday Versus FSU

Lipp, Eclipse Select Advances to Championship

Duke Opens ACC Tournament Play Wednesday Versus FSU

11/3/2009 3:00:00 PM | Women's Soccer

By: Duke Sports Information

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DURHAM, N.C. - Coming off a tough Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) win on Sunday against N.C. State to earn a spot in the ACC Tournament, the Blue Devil women's soccer team (8-7-4, 4-4-2 ACC) will face top-seed and third-ranked Florida State (14-3-1, 7-2-1 ACC) in the ACC Tournament opener on Wednesday, Nov. 4 at noon.

The Blue Devils finished the regular season in a tie for sixth place in the ACC, but due to tiebreakers Duke will be seeded No. 8. Other quarterfinal contests on Wednesday include fourth-seeded Virginia Tech versus fifth-seeded Wake Forest at 2:30 p.m., second-seeded Boston College versus seventh-seeded Virginia at 5:00 p.m., and third-seeded North Carolina against sixth-seeded Maryland at 7:30 p.m.

The semifinals will take place on Friday, Nov. 6 at 5:00 and 7:30 p.m., followed by the championship on Sunday, Nov. 8 at 2:00 p.m. All matches will be played at the WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.

Tickets for the tournament can be purchased at the WakeMed Soccer Park or by calling (919) 341-4552. All-Tournament packages are $30 for adults, $20 for senior citizens (65+), $20 for college students with a valid ID and $20 for youth (3-18). Single session prices are $15 for adults, $10 for senior citizens, $10 for college students with a valid ID and $10 for youth. Children under the age of three are free admission.

A Look at the Opponent
Florida State enters Wednesday's match with a 14-3-1 (7-2-1 ACC) record. The Seminoles are led by the duo of Tiffany McCarty and Jessica Price with 15 goals, six assists and 11 goals, nine assists, respectively. McCarty ranks eighth nationally in points per game (2.00 average) and ninth in goals per game (0.83 average). Price is nationally ranked 22nd in points per game, 37th in goals per game, and 23rd in assists per game. As a team, the Seminoles are ranked fifth nationally in scoring offense with an average of 3.00 goals per game. Florida State is coming off a 1-0 win on the road against then 17th-ranked Virginia Tech in its last outing on Sunday.

The Series
This will be the 17th installment of the series, with the series record currently standing at 7-5-4 in favor of Duke. The last outing was a 0-0 tie at Koskinen Stadium on Oct. 11, 2009. Duke and Florida State have never met in the ACC Tournament.

In The Rankings
Florida State is ranked third in the Soccer America poll, fifth in the SoccerTimes.com listing and sixth in the NSCAA poll. Duke is unranked.

All-Conference Honors
Senior midfielder Elisabeth Redmond was named First Team All-ACC while fellow senior forward KayAnne Gummersall was named Second Team All-ACC this week. Joining Gummersall on the Second Team was freshman goalie Tara Campbell, who also garnered All-Freshman honors. This is the 10th time in school history that a freshman has been named First or Second Team All-ACC. The last player to accomplish this was Casey McCluskey in 2001.

Lipp named Primetime Performer of the Week
Freshman midfielder Nicole Lipp was named a CollegeSoccer360.com Performer of the Week for her first two career goals in the victory over N.C. State on Nov. 1, which clinched the Blue Devils a tie for sixth place finish in the ACC. This is the second week in a row that a Blue Devil has received an honor from CS360 and fourth time overall this season.

Scoring Success
Heading into the ACC Tournament, the Blue Devils have netted 12 goals over the final six games. Duke netted 10 goals in a four game stretch against quality ACC opponents -- Miami, Clemson, Virginia, and Virginia Tech. The last time that the Blue Devils had this impressive of a stretch during ACC play was in 2004 when Duke scored 10 goals in four games (Florida State, Miami, Virginia, and N.C. State) and 12 in five contests (adding in Wake Forest).

The Record Book
Senior KayAnne Gummersall owns 34 career goals and is currently in fourth place, one behind Sherrill Kester. Her 79 points has moved her into fifth place all-time. Senior Elisabeth Redmond owns 35 career assists to rank second on the Blue Devil charts and is seven away from Andi Melde's record of 42. Her 26 goals ranks seventh on Duke's list. Redmond owns 87 career points, which is fourth all-time for the Blue Devils, one behind third place Andi Melde. With 269 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 fourth with 11. Freshman goalie Tara Campbell is currently tied for sixth in the single season saves category with 83.

New Formations
In an effort to slow down Florida State's high powered offense on Oct. 11, the Blue Devils switched from their normal 4-3-3 formation to a more defensive 4-4-2 formation on Oct. 11. Due to this change and outstanding goalkeeping from Tara 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. Church and the Blue Devils have remained in this formation and the defensive effort continued throughout the Miami and Clemson contests as the team held the Hurricanes and Tigers to 28 shots and no goals. The Blue Devils then gave up a goal in three consecutive games against Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Boston College before blanking N.C. State. Since implementing the formation change, Duke has scored 12 goals in seven games and is 4-2-1 during the stretch.

At Home and on the Road
Duke is 2-3-1 on the road this season, with the most recent contest being a win over N.C. State. The Blue Devils are 6-2-3 this season at home, and 21-7-3 over the past three years at Koskinen Stadium. Duke has scored 26 goals and allowed nine goals at home this year.

Close Calls
With the exception of the Maryland loss, all of the Blue Devils' losses have been by a single goal. Of those one-goal defeats, three have been on the road, two at a neutral site, and only one has occurred at home.

In The ACC/NCAA Stats
Duke senior Elisabeth Redmond is first in the ACC in assists and assists per game with 12 and a 0.67 average, respectively. Nationally, Redmond is ranked fifth in assists per game. Sophomore Cody Newman also ranks tied for second in assists and assists per game with nine and a 0.50 average, respectively, and is ranked 23rd nationally in assists per game. Redmond is also third in shots and fourth in shots per game with 74 and a 4.11 average, respectively. Senior KayAnne Gummersall is tied for ninth in shots (53), sixth in points (26) and points per game (1.37 average), tied for fourth in goals (11) and fifth in goals per game (0.58 average). Freshman Tara Campbell is second in saves (83) and saves per game with a 4.88 average. Her goals against average of 0.97 is currently sixth.

Tough Defense
Duke has only allowed nine goals in the first half this season and only 18 total goals in 19 matches. The defense has allowed 115 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. In the ACC regular season, Duke allowed only nine goals in 10 league contests, which was the second-fewest allowed all season -- UNC and Boston College (8); Duke and Virginia (9).

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 17 of the 19 matches and currently holds a 0.97 goals against average in addition to an assist. Lipp, a defender hailing from Lake Forest, Ill., had her first two career goals against N.C. State on Nov. 1 to go along with one assist while playing the second most minutes on the team. Lipp has anchored the center of the back line and also recently moved to the center of the midfield. Haller, a defender from South Salem, N.Y., has picked up two assists and has played in all 19 matches, starting 17 while playing outside back. Koballa, a defender from Wrightsville Beach, N.C., has started all 19 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, one assist and seen action in 17 contests -- starting in seven. She is coming off posting her first career goal on her first career shot against Miami on Oct. 15.

Scoring Blue Devils
Of the 34 goals Duke has netted through 19 matches, 20 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 11 goals, four assists and three goals, 12 assists, respectively. Gummersall currently leads the team with 11 goals, five of which have been headers, while Redmond leads the squad with her 12 assists, followed by sophomore Cody Newman with nine. 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.

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 10 goals the last six matches.

During the scoreless 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 12 Blue Devils have scored so far, eight 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 two weeks of practice and games after suffering a leg injury. Junior Meaghan Fitzgerald has also been sidelined with a knee injury.

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Gummersall Collects ACC & National Honors
Senior forward KayAnne Gummersall was named ACC Co-Player of the Week on Oct. 27 for her role in the Blue Devils' victory over 13th-ranked Virginia Tech. Gummersall notched her first career hat trick in the win. This is the second week in a row that a Duke player has received this honor, fellow senior Elisabeth Redmond was awarded it the previous week, Oct. 20.

Gummersall was also named to the Soccer America Women's Team of the Week and a CollegeSoccer360.com Primetime Performers of the Week by leading Duke past the Hokies with her three goals. It is her second CS360 honor with the first coming from 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.

Redmond Receives ACC Co-Player of the Week Award
Senior midfielder Elisabeth Redmond was named ACC Co-Player of the Week on Oct. 20 for her performances in the previous 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.

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 15 matches played, Campbell has started all 15 contests, posted a 1.03 goals-against average and averaged 4.80 saves per match. She has seen action against six ranked opponents as a freshman. Her eight saves against FSU were the second-most of her career.

Church Nets 100th Career Win at Duke
In the victory at Clemson on Oct. 18, Head Coach Robbie Church posted his 100th career win at Duke in only nine years with the Blue Devils.

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
Senior Elisabeth 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 102-66-22 mark at Duke. His overall record as a head coach for men and women is 285-180-36 in 24 years, while his overall record as a women's head coach is 189-115-33 in 16 years.

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

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