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NCAA Championship Notes: Duke vs. Stanford
12/3/2011 1:15:00 PM | Women's Soccer
Live Blog l ESPN3 l Game Notes
#1 Stanford (24-0-1) vs. #3 Duke (22-3-1)
NCAA College Cup - Championship
Sunday, Dec. 4 • 1 P.M. • ESPNU
Kennesaw, Ga. • KSU Soccer Stadium
Blue Devils Set to Play in NCAA Championship on Sunday...
The No. 1 seeded and third-ranked Duke women's soccer team will play in the National Championship on Sunday, Dec. 4 as the Blue Devils (22-3-1) face top-ranked Stanford (24-0-1) at 1:00 p.m., on ESPNU at the KSU Soccer Stadium in Kennesaw, Ga. The game will also be aired live on ESPN3 and a live blog will be available on www.GoDuke.com.
Calling the action for ESPNU and ESPN3 will be Beth Mowins (PXP), Julie Foudy (Color) and Monica Gonzalez (Sideline).
Duke is currently ranked fifth in the Soccer America poll and third in the NSCAA ledger, while Stanford is No. 1 in both polls.
The Blue Devils last appeared in the NCAA College Cup in 1992 as Duke defeated Hartford, 1-0, in the semifinals and then fell to North Carolina (9-1) in the finals under head coach Bill Hempen.
Duke advanced to the title game with a 4-1 victory over seventh-ranked Wake Forest, while Stanford downed Florida State, 3-0.
The Series With Stanford...
Duke and Stanford will meet for the eighth time in school history. The Cardinal lead the overall series, 6-1.
The last meeting came in the Nike Carolina Classic in 2010 as Stanford defeated the Blue Devils, 2-1. Duke scored the first goal by Laura Weinberg and led 1-0 at the half, but the Cardinal scored two second half goals to win.
In neutral site games, Stanford leads the overall series 4-1. This will be the first meeting for Duke/Stanford in the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Devils and Cardinal have met only one time since the 1996 campaign.
A Look at Stanford...
Stanford enters the match with a 24-0-1 record and is ranked No. 1 nationally. The only blemish on the season for the Cardinal was a 0-0 draw against Maryland in the third match of the season. Stanford has been led by Lindsay Taylor (20 goals, 7 assists), Teresa Noyola (8 goals, 15 assists) and Chioma Ubogagu (10 goals, 10 assists).
Duke Going For First NCAA Championship...
The Blue Devils will be going for their first NCAA Championship on Sunday and the 13th in school history -- women's golf (5), men's basketball (4), men's soccer (1), women's tennis (1) and men's lacrosse (1). If Duke wins the title on Sunday, it would become just the third Division I school to have both its men's and women's soccer teams win NCAA titles (Santa Clara and North Carolina) - note from CollegeSoccer360.com.
Pathman to See Stanford Players Again...
In October, sophomore Mollie Pathman trained with the U.S. U-23 Women's National Team for a week. Training with Pathman on that team was Stanford's Camille Levin and Lindsay Taylor.
Both Pathman and freshman Kelly Cobb also played with Stanford sophomore Sydney Payne on the U.S. U-20 National Team over the past year.
Talented Sophomores...
Duke's sophomores have been huge this season registering 34 goals and 31 assists -- Natasha Anasi (1G, 1A), Kim DeCesare (5G, 1A), Gilda Doria (1G, 3A), Kaitlyn Kerr (11G, 5A), Mollie Pathman (6G, 11A), Callie Simpkins (2G, 2A), Alex Straton (0G, 4A), Avery Rape (0G, 0A) and Laura Weinberg (8G, 4A).
Over two years, the sophomores have accumulated 63 goals and 46 assists.
In the NCAA Semifinals against Wake Forest, all four goals came from the sophomore class.
Hey, I Know You...
Blue Devil junior Nicole Lipp will go up against her former high school teammate Rachel Quon of Stanford on Sunday in the championship. The duo played at Lake Forest High School in Lake Forest, Ill., and led the Scouts to a 2009 regional title and into the Class 3A Sectionals. Lipp is Lake Forest's all-time leading scorer with 62 goals and 37 assists.
Blue Devils Versus No. 1 Ranked Opponents...
Duke is 2-12 all-time when playing the top-ranked team in the nation. The Blue Devils' upsets include a 2-1 win over No. 1 North Carolina in Chapel Hill on Oct. 9, 2005 and a 3-1 victory this season over Notre Dame on Aug. 28, 2011 in the Carolina Nike Classic.
Duke Against Pac-12...
The Blue Devils are 8-13 all-time against teams from the Pac-12 Conference - California (3-0), Oregon (1-0), Oregon State (1-0), Stanford (1-6), UCLA (1-3), USC (0-1), Washington (1-2) and Washington State (0-1). In Duke's last meeting with a Pac-12 Conference member, the squad registered a 2-1 victory over California on Nov. 12, 2010 in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Devils are 1-2 all-time in NCAA Tournament play against teams from the Pac-12.
Noting Duke...
• The Blue Devils improved to 18-0 this season when scoring first and 11-0 this year when leading at the half with a 4-1 win over Wake Forest in the semifinals.
- Duke allowed goals in back-to-back games only twice this season.
• Sophomore Kaitlyn Kerr owns five goals over her final five contests, including two game-winners.
- Of Duke's 55 goals scored this season, 35 have come in the second half.
- Duke has scored four goals off corner kicks this season, including one in the semifinals vs. WFU.
- The Blue Devils will feature a starting lineup against Stanford that has no seniors.
- Over the last 10 matches, Duke has scored 18 second half goals.
• Duke's 16 goals in the 2011 NCAA Tournament are the most by any Blue Devil squad in the postseason.
- Over the last 18 games, the Blue Devils outscored their opponents 39-10.
- Since Natasha Anasi replaced Ashley Rape in the lineup due to injury, Duke has allowed only 11 goals in 22 matches.
- Junior Nicole Lipp tallied two assists in the Ohio State win, which was a single-game career high. Lipp matched that with two assists against Wake Forest in the semifinals. She owns six assists on the season.
• Duke's top four scorers are either freshmen or sophomores -- freshman Kelly Cobb (31 points), sophomore Kaitlyn Kerr (27 points), sophomore Laura Weinberg (20 points) and sophomore Mollie Pathman (23 points).
- With Gilda Doria scoring against Long Beach State, a total of 13 Blue Devils have registered a tally this season. The goal for Doria was the first of her career.
- Freshman Kelly Cobb posted the first postseason goal of her career against Ohio State and now owns Duke's single-season goals mark by a freshman with 11 tallies.
- After opening her career with eight goals in the first 11 matches, freshman Kelly Cobb has been limited to three goals in the last 14 contests.
• With Duke's victory against Ohio State, the Blue Devils reached 20 wins, marking only the third program in the ACC to notch 20 wins in a season -- North Carolina (21 times), Florida State (once in 2005 - 20).
- For only the third time in school history, the Blue Devils have three players with eight or more goals scored in a season (1989, 2002).
- Duke's 12 goals allowed on the season are three fewer than the next team (Boston College - 15), while playing five more games. The three goals allowed in ACC regular season play were the fewest in the league since North Carolina allowed three in 2003. Duke's two goals allowed against Wake Forest in the ACC Tournament matched a season-high (Texas A&M).
- With three first half goals against Radford, Duke tied a season-high (College of Charleston).
- With her tally against Ohio State on Nov. 20, Kaitlyn Kerr owns six game-winning goals this season and three against ACC foes (all were 1-0 games). Kerr is now tied for third in the ACC in game-winning goals with freshman Kelly Cobb (6). The two are tied for 15th nationally in game-winning goals.
- The Blue Devils had their streak of 558:16 minutes without allowing a goal snapped at North Carolina. Duke has only allowed seven goals over the last 17 matches.
- Duke entered the NCAA Tournament with the No. 1 RPI in the nation.
- The Blue Devils are 9-2-1 this season against ranked opponents with wins over No. 24 Long Beach State, No. 21 South Carolina, No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 6 Florida State, No. 5 Boston College, No. 3 & No. 7 Wake Forest , No. 15 Maryland, No. 25 Virginia Tech-- tied No. 7 Virginia (0-0, 2 OT).
- The victory over a No. 1 ranked opponent (Notre Dame) was the first since a 2005 win at top-ranked North Carolina.
- Duke starting forwards Kelly Cobb, Mollie Pathman and Laura Weinberg have scored 25 of the Blue Devils' 55 goals.
- The Blue Devils have trailed in only six matches this season -- Notre Dame (0-1, 37:43), Auburn (0-1, 28:88), North Carolina (0-1, 2:45), Maryland (0-1, 49:56), Wake Forest (0-1, 63:50), Ohio State (0-1, 25:20) -- for a total of 207:42.
- Kelly Cobb became the 13th Blue Devil to register a goal in her first collegiate start and the fifth to post goals in her first two starts.
- Senior Chelsea Canepa has scored three goals this season, the first two coming against nationally-ranked opponents -- Notre Dame and Florida State -- and the third coming in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Duke in the NCAA Tournament...
By earning a No. 1 seed and an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament, the Blue Devils reached the big show for the ninth straight season and the 18th time in school history. With a first round win, Duke has won at least one contest in the tournament in nine out of the last 10 years. The No. 1 seed is a first for Blue Devil soccer as the previous highest seed for Duke was third in 2008.
The Blue Devils hold an overall record of 26-17 (10-2 at home) in tournament play, and made it to the third round last season, losing 0-2 at Oklahoma State. Duke is three years removed from back-to-back NCAA Quarterfinals appearances (2007 and 2008). In 2008, the Blue Devils lost to No. 2 seed UCLA in the quarterfinals.
With Duke's victory over Ohio State, the Blue Devils advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight for only the fourth time in school history (1992, 2007, 2008) and hosted an Elite Eight match for the first time in school history.
Duke is making its second trip to the NCAA Championship game and the first since 1992. The Blue Devils lost, 9-1, to North Carolina in the last appearance.
NCAA Tournament Stats...
Kaitlyn Kerr's five goals in the NCAA Tournament is tied for the most in the tournament in 2011 along with Wake Forest Katie Stengel (5).
Scoring in the NCAAs...
Duke now boasts nine players who have scored goals in the NCAA Tournament -- Kaitlyn Kerr (6), Laura Weinberg (2), Kim DeCesare (2), Mollie Pathman (2), Gilda Doria, Katie Trees, Callie Simpkins, Chelsea Canepa, and Kelly Cobb. Prior to the match against Radford, the Blue Devils had registered only two goals over the last four NCAA Tournament contests, while being shutout in three matches. Those two goals came against California last year in the NCAA First Round.
In just two years, Kerr is Duke's all-time NCAA Tournament scorer with six tallies, including five in 2011. With her two assists against Wake Forest in the semifinals and two versus Ohio State, Lipp is already Duke's all-time leader in assists in tourney play with four.
Duke All-Time NCAA Scoring
6, Kaitlyn Kerr (2010-present)
5, KayAnne Gummersall (2006-09)
4, Sarah McCabe (2003-06)
4, Katherine Remy (1992-95)
2, Eight tied
Duke All-Time NCAA Assists
4, Nicole Lipp (2009-present)
3, Mollie Pathman (2010-present)
3, Caitlin Connolly (1989-92)
3, CJ Ludemann (2006-07)
3, Lorraine Quinn (2004, 06-08)
3, Kate Siebert (2002-05)
2, Eight tied
How We Got Here...
After receiving a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history, the Blue Devils took advantage of playing at home in Koskinen Stadium over the last four matches. Duke cruised to an opening round victory over Radford, 5-0, led by two first half goals by Kaitlyn Kerr. The five goals were a school record in NCAA Tournament action. In the second round, the Blue Devils took a 1-0 lead in the 35th minute off an own-goal by Georgia. Duke came out in the second half and notched two goals in a span of seven minutes to take a 3-0 lead, but Georgia added a tally in the 82nd minute.
In the third round, the Blue Devils fell behind for only the sixth time this season as Ohio State registered a goal in the 29th minute and went into halftime down 1-0. Kelly Cobb tied the match in the 54th minute and Kerr registered the game-winner in the 81st minute to push the Blue Devils into the quarterfinals for only the fourth time in school history. Nicole Lipp added two assists in the match.
Going up against a Long Beach State squad in the quarterfinals that had not allowed a goal in the NCAA Tournament, Duke took a 0-0 ledger into the half before notching goals in the 67th and 74th minutes to head to the College Cup. Kim DeCesare and Gilda Doria scored the goals for the Blue Devils.
Mollie Pathman scored two goals and Kim DeCesare added a goal in her second straight match to lift the Blue Devils past Wake Forest, 4-1. Kaitlyn Kerr added a header goal and Nicole Lipp chipped in two assists on the night to put the Blue Devils into the NCAA Championship game for the second time in school history.
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