Duke Drops Road Contest at No. 14 Florida, 2-1

Friday, September 11

Gainesville, Fla.

7:00 p.m.

Duke University

2-3-1, 0-0ACC

Florida

4-2, 0-0SEC

Duke

#14/14 Florida

Duke Drops Road Contest at No. 14 Florida, 2-1

9/11/2009 10:00:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

By: Duke Sports Information

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. - In its first true road contest of the season on Friday evening, the Duke women's soccer team held strong against 14th-ranked Florida, but the Blue Devils came away with a 2-1 loss at the James G. Pressly Stadium in Gainesville, Fla.

The Gators registered a second half goal to take the lead and the Blue Devils were held to a season-low 10 shots as Duke fell to 2-3-1 on the season, while Florida improved to 4-2-0.

Florida came out of the gate and took the first shot attempt of the contest, but the Blue Devils came back with some firepower of their own as Duke attempted the next five shots. Junior Rebecca Allen had a shot that was saved by Gator goalkeeper Katie Fraine and senior Jane Alukonis blasted a shot that went wide. Senior Elisabeth Redmond then registered two straight shots with one going wide and the other saved. In the 24th minute, sophomore Cody Newman had a shot blocked as Duke led in shots 5-1.

"We prepared ourselves well and I cannot ask the girls to prepare themselves any better," said Duke Head Coach Robbie Church. "I thought we had seven or eight players that were doing everything they could out on the field, but we had a few, especially in the second half, that didn't really want the ball when it was a crucial time. We didn't make some of the plays that we needed to. We had some opportunities early and we didn't finish those opportunities."

The Gators started to put the pressure on the Blue Devils as they attempted three out of the next four shots and then got on the board in the 41st minute as Lindsay Thompson had a tap-in from five yards out off assists from Brooke Thigpen and Tahnai Annis.

Duke didn't drop its heads following three substitutions after the goal. Coming in was sophomore Chelsea Canepa and she got into the action pretty quick as she notched her first goal of the season in less than two minutes of action. A product of Phoenix, Ariz., Canepa rocketed a 25-yard shot through traffic that found the back of the net. The goal was the third of her career.

"It was a great goal with great timing," commented Church. "We had just given up a goal and Florida was starting to have a little bit of a run of play. Chelsea came inside, turned well and hit her shot underneath the goalkeeper to the near post. It was a perfect timing to really give us some momentum going into the second half."

At the end of the half, the shots were knotted at 7-7 and both teams attempted one corner kick.

Blue Devil senior KayAnne Gummersall attempted the first shot of the second half that went wide and then the Gators fired off two consecutive shots before taking a 2-1 lead in the 63rd minute. Thigpen tapped in her second goal of the season from six yards out for Florida.

"We came out early in the second half, pressed them and did some things really well," said Church. "We just were not able to sustain it at the high level, but it wasn't for a lack of effort."

Duke freshman goalkeeper Tara Campbell made some key second half saves to keep the ledger, 2-1, in favor of Florida, while Canepa and junior Carey Goodman each took late shots that were blocked and went wide, respectively. The Blue Devils were limited to only three second half shots.

For the game, Florida held a 14-10 shot advantage and won its third straight contest against the Blue Devils. Campbell, who is from Cincinnati, Ohio, finished with a career-high nine saves in the match.

"We didn't clear balls on both goals, which showed a little of the inexperience in the back," said Church. "This is a big-time environment and it was a big-time game. Both teams played hard but Florida got it done a little bit more than us in the second half. The loss is disappointing, but we are going to have a lot of games played like this. The team is going to have to learn how to win. In these big games, everybody has to want the ball and want to make a difference."

Duke will return home to face Alabama A&M on Sunday, Sept. 13 for a 6:00 p.m., contest at Koskinen Stadium. So far on the season, Duke has a record of 2-0-1 at home and have outscored opponents 6-0.

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