Freshmen Lead Duke Past Clemson, 4-1, in League Action

Sunday, October 10

Durham, N.C.

2:00 p.m.

Duke University

7-4-3, 1-3-1ACC

Clemson

5-8-0, 0-5-0ACC

Team	1	2	Final F
Clemson	0	1	1
#18 Duke	2	2	4

Freshmen Lead Duke Past Clemson, 4-1, in League Action

10/10/2010 5:16:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. – After scoring only six goals over the last eight contests, the 18th-ranked Duke women's soccer team registered four tallies on Sunday to net its first Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) victory of the season by a 4-1 ledger over Clemson at Koskinen Stadium in Durham, N.C.

The Blue Devils improve to 7-4-3 overall and 1-3-1 in ACC action, while the Lady Tigers drop to 5-8-0, 0-5-0. All four goals scored on Sunday by Duke were by freshmen as the Blue Devils featured five newcomers in the opening lineup.

“It was huge, absolutely huge,” said Duke Head Coach Robbie Church on the victory. “We just had to have this win. But its great to see smiles back on their faces, laughing a little bit. We could here them behind us! We knew it was coming and we knew it was just a matter of time. It was great to see the first goal in and it was great to go into halftime up 2-0. It's been a little while since we've had that.”

Duke came out and dominated play from the start of the match as the Blue Devils held Clemson without a shot in the first half. The Blue Devils collected two first half goals and outshot the Lady Tigers, 12-0, in the stanza.

Freshman Laura Weinberg came off the bench for the Blue Devils and put Duke on the board in the 22nd minute. After subbing in during the 22nd minute, Weinberg headed in a corner kick from freshman Gilda Doria just 36 seconds later to put the Blue Devils ahead 1-0. Weinberg, who is from Boca Raton, Fla., netted her team-leading sixth goal of the season.

Redshirt freshman Kim DeCesare collected her second goal of the year in the 38th minute as she headed in a free kick from redshirt sophomore Ashley Rape to put the Blue Devils ahead 2-0. Rape, a product of Dallas, Texas, sent a long free kick from almost mid field that went right to a leaping DeCesare.

Clemson attempted its first two shots in the 58th and 61st minutes and then notched a goal of its own in the 64th minute as Heather Marik headed in a free kick from Emily Tatum.

The goal by the Lady Tigers cut the Duke lead to 2-1 and ignited the Blue Devils. Duke fired two straight shots at the Clemson goal before senior Molly Lester fired a shot that was blocked back to freshman Mollie Pathman, who sent in her fourth goal of the season from 17 yards out in the 76th minute.

“It was a big one for us today,” commented Lester. “To get these three points was really crucial. I think we are now on an upswing and looking forward to the next couple of games.”

Pathman wasn't done yet as she used her left foot to send a corner kick in the 83rd minute that bent right inside the back post for the fifth goal of the year. A native of Durham, N.C., Pathman now owns two multi-goal games in her short career.

“I didn't really mean to do that to be honest,” said Pathman. “We bend it in there and hope someone gets a touch on it. That's what's so dangerous about corners.”

For the game, Duke outshot Clemson, 30-4. It marks the fourth time this year the Blue Devils have attempted 30 or more shots in a match and the first in ACC play. Duke's four goals in a game is the most since the Blue Devils downed High Point, 5-0, on Sept. 5. The Blue Devils had not scored more than a goal in the last eight matches.

“I thought we played well in the second half even though there was a stretch where they scored,” commented Church. “I was very happy with us after they scored. I thought we kept attacking. We got the third one and then the fourth one came at the end. I think it was a very solid performance for us all day. We still left some goals out there and some things on the field. But we started five freshman today. We had six on the field at a lot of the time. So, you're going to be up and down with that group. But the whole group is committed. They are all working hard, and it was just great to get a win.”

Blue Devil sophomore Tara Campbell picked up the victory in goal as she finished the match with one save in 90 minutes. Morgan Hart added eight saves for Clemson for the match.

Duke will hit the road for two straight matches in the state of Virginia. The Blue Devils will take on Virginia on Thursday, Oct. 14 at 7:00 p.m., and then will travel to Blacksburg, Va., on Sunday, Oct. 17 at 5:00 p.m.

“I just want us to play hard every time out here and I think we are doing that,” said Church. “We are training hard and playing hard. It's so nice to see them get rewarded for all that work. We've got some big games left – five ACC games left and we need to win a majority of those games. I'm excited about it because I think we are playing very good soccer. We are giving up a few more goals then we like and we need to tidy up on the defensive end. We just have to keep scoring goals up front. It's a great challenge this week. I'm looking forward to it and I think the kids are really looking forward to it.”

Notes:

• Senior Marybeth Kreger was scratched from the starting lineup right before game time after going through warm ups and did not play.

• Sophomore Nicole Lipp did not play due to an injury.

• Duke played a total of 21 players in the match.

• The Blue Devils snapped a scoreless streak of 231:18 since the Maryland second half goal on Sept. 26.

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