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Kerr, Church, Jandl & DeCesare Meet With the Media
11/30/2011 12:00:00 PM | Women's Soccer
DURHAM, N.C.— Blue Devil junior Libby Jandl, sophomore Kaitlyn Kerr, redshirt sophomore Kim DeCesare and head coach Robbie Church of the Duke women's soccer team met with the media on Tuesday as the No. 1 seed and third-ranked Blue Devils prepare for the 2011 NCAA College cup. Duke (21-3-1) will face Wake Forest (18-3-4) on Friday, Nov. 29 at 7:30 p.m., on ESPN3.
The Blue Devils are making their second trip to the NCAA College Cup and the first since 1992. In the other semifinal match, Stanford will face Florida State on Friday at 5:00 p.m., on ESPNU.
Quotes
Head Coach Robbie Church
On Duke's journey heading into this weekend
"It's been really special. The kids have worked extremely hard all year since preseason practice. This team has been very, very consistent all year."
On continuing the ACC's success in the NCAA Tournament
"I think we owe a lot of this to [North] Carolina, too. They've made teams in our conference better. They set the bar so high. They make you work better. They make you train harder during the offseason. The bar that they have set has been incredible in women's soccer. In a small way, I think they really made other teams in the league better. They're a great program and will continue to be a great program, but it's great to see new teams. Somebody is going to win their first national championship."
On what has to be done to win against Wake Forest
"I think in the first game, we were the aggressor. We came out and really pinned them back early. In the second game in the ACC Semifinals, they were the aggressor. I think that's going to be the first thing we are going to have to attack from the beginning. Ball movement and speed of play [will] be very important. When you get into these types of games, they're going to have a few chances, we're going to have a few chances. You just have to be ready for your chances and be ready to score when those opportunities come."
On the team taking it one game at a time or thinking about the national championship
"They like to dream [about] the national championship, and I think that's a good thing, but they also understand that to play on Sunday, you have to win on Friday. Obviously with Wake Forest, an opponent that gave us our last loss, we won't overlook them by any means."
Redshirt-sophomore midfielder Kim DeCesare
On Duke's run through the NCAA Tournament
"I think that our entire season we just played with a lot of pride and we had one goal in mind: a national championship. I feel like every individual player on our team has done everything they possibly can to get us where we are right now."
On playing Wake Forest in the semifinals
"They're a very tough team and it's going to be a great game. It's going to be challenging, but I think if we come out and put what we have on the line and play our best, then I think we have a really good shot."
Junior Defender Libby Jandl
On whether the team is surprised by its NCAA Tournament run
"Yes and no. I think it was one of our goals to make it this far and even go further. At the end of last year and last spring, this was something that we realized was [possible]. From the beginning of the year, once we started beating teams like Notre Dame and then Texas A&M, we realized this was something actually possible. It's kind of a relief that we're actually doing it."
On what it will take to defeat Wake Forest
"I think we're very evenly matched. It kind of helped us that we lost the most recent game we played against them. We really learned a lot from that game. We sat down and watched a lot of film. We know what we need to do and I think that we'll have the edge and I know everyone wants revenge against them."
On playing a team like Wake that has never been to the College Cup
"I think that both teams might not have the experience, but I think that it gives us even more hunger to go out and win. It's very, very new and exciting, so I think that both teams will have an appetite to win."
Players Mentioned
Kieran Hall Postgame Vs. Wake Forest
Thursday, September 25
Kieran Hall Postgame Vs. Notre Dame
Friday, September 19
Kieran Hall Postgame Vs. Miami
Monday, September 15
Kieran Hall Postgame Vs. Virginia
Friday, September 12
