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Duke To Face North Carolina In ACC Semifinals On Friday
11/3/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Duke To Face North Carolina In ACC Semifinals On Friday...
With a 2-0 victory over fifth-seeded and 13th-ranked Boston College on Wednesday, the fourth-seeded and ninth-ranked Duke Women's Soccer team advanced to the semifinals of the ACC Championship for the fourth straight year. The Blue Devils will next take on top-seeded and third-ranked North Carolina on Friday at 5:00 p.m., at the SAS Soccer Complex in Cary, N.C.
Duke enters the contest with a 13-4-1 overall record, while North Carolina owns an 18-1-0 mark and is coming off a 3-1 victory over Maryland. In the other semifinal match, Florida State will take on Virginia on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
In The Rankings...
In the latest rankings, Blue Devils are ninth in the Soccer America poll, while being ranked ninth by SoccerTimes.com, 10th by Soccer Buzz and 12th by the NSCAA. North Carolina is ranked third in Soccer America, SoccerTimes.com, NSCAA and Soccer Buzz listings.
The Series...
North Carolina leads the overall series 27-2-1, but Duke is coming off a 2-1 victory over UNC in Chapel Hill, N.C., on Oct. 9. In neutral site games, the Tar Heels own a 6-0 record against the Blue Devils. It marks the third straight year Duke and North Carolina have met in the semifinals of the ACC Championship.
Duke In the ACC Tournament...
Duke owns an all-time record of 11-17-2 in the ACC Tournament over the 18 years. The Blue Devils have advanced to the semifinals each of the past four years and 11 times in their 18 appearances.
Duke and UNC have faced off 10 times over the years in ACC Championship action with UNC owning a 10-0 record against Duke. The Tar Heels have outscored Duke 43-8 in ACC Tournament play. It marks the sixth time Duke/UNC have met in the semifinals. Overall, Duke owns a 4-7 record in the semifinals of the ACC Championship.
Duke vs. North Carolina in ACC Tournament
2005 #1 UNC d. #4 Duke, 4-2 (semifinals)
2004 #1 UNC d. #4 Duke, 6-1 (semifinals)
2000 #3 UNC d. #5 Duke, 4-0 (finals)
1998 #1 UNC d. #8 Duke, 5-1 in OT (first)
1995 #1 UNC d. #4 Duke, 4-0 (semis)
1994 #2 UNC d. #1 Duke, 4-2 (finals)
1993 #1 UNC d. #2 Duke, 4-1 (finals)
1992 #1 UNC d. #3 Duke, 3-1 (finals)
1990 #1 UNC d. #4 Duke, 5-0 (semis)
1989 #1 UNC d. #4 Duke, 4-0 (semis)
Trio Of Blue Devils Named Academic All-District III...
Senior Carolyn Ford, senior Carmen Bognanno and junior Rachel-Rose Cohen of the Duke University Women's Soccer team were named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III squad on Thursday, which was selected in a vote by the College Sports Information Director's of America (CoSIDA). Cohen was named to the first team and will now move on to the national ballot to be selected for Academic All-America, while Ford earned second team and Bognanno earned third team accolades.
The Carlyle Cup...
Earlier this season, Duke defeated UNC, 2-1, and received one point towards the Carlyle Cup, which is a yearlong competition between the Blue Devils and Tar Heels. If UNC were to win on Friday, the Tar Heels would earn half a point back with the victory. The competition is sponsored by Carlyle & Co., based out of Greensboro, N.C.
The season total so far is Duke 5, UNC .5.
Ford Earns Top Honor; Four Blue Devils Named All-ACC ...
Senior Carolyn Ford was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year, while junior Rebecca Moros, junior Darby
Kroyer and freshman Christie McDonald were selected All-ACC on Wednesday by a vote of the league head coaches.
Ford was also named first team All-ACC along with Moros, while Kroyer was selected to the second team and McDonald earned All-ACC Freshman accolades.
In The Record Book...
Senior Carolyn Riggs continues to move up the Duke record charts as she owns 71 career points and 28 career goals over her four years. Her 71 points rank fifth while ranking tied for fourth in goals. With her eight shutouts so far this season, sophomore Allison Lipsher already ranks tied for second on Duke's all-time shutout list with 16. She is first on the Duke career list with a 0.86 goals against average.
Defender Carolyn Ford also ranks third with 21 career assists, Kate Seibert is tied for sixth, while Rebecca Moros and Lauren Tippets are tied for eighth with 16.
Tough In Goal...
Sophomore Allison Lipsher has quickly established herself as one of the top goalkeepers in the country in just two years with the Blue Devils. On the season, Lipsher has registered nine shutouts, which is a career-best, and owns a 0.46 goals against average, which is on pace to shatter the Duke single season record and is first the ACC.
Lipsher has allowed only eight goals in 18 matches, while collecting 12 wins in the net.
Pride In Zeros...
Last season, the Duke defense began using the motto -- Pride in Zeros. Each defender writes this motto on their arm with a goal of not allowing any goals during the match. In 2004, the motto worked collecting 12 shutouts as a team and so far this season the Blue Devils have notched 10 shutouts in 18 matches.
In the ACC stats, Duke leads in fewest goals allowed on the season (9). The Blue Devils have allowed only one team to score more than one goal against them this season (Florida State, 2).
Entering Friday's match, the Duke defense is on pace to set a school record for fewest goals allowed and lowest goals against average. Prior to the North Carolina game, the Blue Devils have allowed nine goals and have a 0.49 goals against average. The school record is 13 goals and 0.74 GAA back in the inaugural year of Duke soccer in 1988.
Duke returned all four defenders from last year -- Carolyn Ford, Heidi Hollenbeck, Rachel-Rose Cohen and
Kate Seibert -- to go along with All-ACC Freshman goalkeeper Allison Lipsher.
Close Games...
Duke has played a total of 11 one-goal matches this season and owns a record of 7-4 in those contests.
Seibert Having Stellar Senior Year...
After missing the first five games due to an ankle injury, senior Kate Seibert has had a very productive final year with the Blue Devils. Seibert, a product of Downingtown, Pa., was switched from the defense to the forward position this season and has totaled three goals, six assists and 12 points. She owns two game-winning goals on the year and has started 10 of the 13 matches she has played in.
She injured her ankle against South Carolina in the final exhibition contest on Aug. 20. Seibert went on to have arthroscopic surgery to remove scar tissue on Aug. 25.
Balanced Scoring...
After scoring 65 goals last season, the Blue Devils have posted only 28 goals this season, but still own 13 victories. Duke has had a very balanced scoring attack with 10 different players scoring at least one goal. On the year, Rebecca Moros, Darby Kroyer, Christie McDonald and Sarah McCabe each own a team-best four goals.
Duke Knocks Off Top-Ranked UNC On Oct. 9...
For only the second time in school history, the 11th-ranked Duke women's soccer team knocked off top-ranked North Carolina, 2-1, on Oct. 9 at Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill, N.C., as junior Rebecca Moros tallied two goals, including one with three minutes remaining in the match.
The loss for North Carolina was the first regular season loss since falling, 2-1, at N.C. State on Oct. 10, 2002, a span of 41 regular season games. It was also the first regular season loss for the Tar Heels at Fetzer Field since a 3-2 loss to Penn State on Sept. 12, 1999.
After scoring only three goals over their first four ACC contests, the Blue Devils got on the board first on Sunday afternoon. Duke senior tri-captain Carolyn Ford sent a free kick into the box where junior Lauren Tippets sent the first Blue Devil shot of the match at the goal, but a North Carolina defender blocked it.
Duke's Kate Seibert corralled the ball and sent a pass backwards to Moros, who blasted a shot into the bottom right corner of the net to give the Blue Devils a 1-0 advantage. The goal for Moros, a junior from Larchmont, N.Y., was the second of the season.
The Blue Devils weathered off two excellent scoring opportunities of the first half by North Carolina's Heather O'Reilly as she just missed a header and a shot off a breakaway that went just right of the Blue Devil goal.
With the first half coming to an end, Tar Heel sophomore Jamie Gilbert connected on a rocket from 23-yards out to even the match, 1-1. Gilbert sent the right-footed shot into the top left corner of the net to beat Duke goalkeeper Allison Lipsher.
At the end of the first half, North Carolina held a 10-2 shot advantage with Duke's only shots coming during the sequence where Moros scored in the 16th minute.
The Blue Devils came out very aggressive in the second stanza with offsides called just 40 seconds into the half. Then, Duke junior Sarah McCabe broke down a North Carolina defender and had a shot miss just right after Tar Heel goalkeeper Aly Winget challenged McCabe in the 47th minute. Duke's Darby Kroyer added another Blue Devil scoring opportunity less than three minutes later but the shot sailed high from just outside the box.
Over the final 29 minutes of play, North Carolina had three scoring chances by Kendall Fletcher, Lindsay Tarpley and Lori Chalupny (2), but the Blue Devil defense held strong.
The Blue Devils were able to shock the soccer nation at the 87:08 mark as Seibert sent a diagonal feed 35 yards down the field from just over the midfield line to Moros. Moros then made the turn from the left side of the box and chipped the ball over North Carolina goalkeeper, Aly Winget, into the net to give Duke a 2-1 lead.
Prior to heading into the UNC contest, Moros had scored eight career goals and the two scores versus North Carolina marked the first time in her career she registered two goals in one contest.
After notching the goal, Church moved Kroyer into the back field to try to hold onto the lead. North Carolina had one final scoring chance with 43 seconds remaining, but freshman Yael Averbuch's free kick sailed high over the Blue Devil goal.
For the game, North Carolina finished with a 16-6 shot advantage and Lipsher turned in four saves, which tied for a season high. The Blue Devils were held without a corner kick for the first time this season.
Blue Devils Lose Three For Season...
In the preseason, Head Coach Robbie Church announced that sophomore Lorraine Quinn, senior Carly O'Connor and sophomore Tara Davison will each miss the 2005 campaign.
Quinn, a native of Farmingdale, N.Y., suffered a Lis Franc injury to her left foot over the summer and had surgery on Aug. 11 to repair it. She will miss the entire season after starting all 23 contests as a freshman. In 2004, Quinn scored three goals and assisted on five others for 11 points as she was selected to the All-ACC Freshman team.
After dealing with numerous injures over her career at Duke, O'Connor has decided to become a student assistant coach for the Blue Devils in 2005. The Kentfield, Calif., native played seven matches her freshman season before being sidelined in 2002 with a torn ACL, but came back to start 22 contests on the defensive end in 2003. Last season, O'Connor dealt with an ankle injury for most of the season and only played two matches. Overall, she concludes her Blue Devil career playing in 29 matches, while starting 25.
Davison arrived at Duke for preseason practice last week but has decided to take a leave of absence from the team for the fall semester. The Kenosha, Wis., product is expected to return for spring practice and play in 2006. Last year as a freshman, Davison came off the bench to play in 10 matches.
Head Coach Robbie Church...
After leading Duke to its most wins since 1994, Robbie Church is in his fifth season as head coach of the Blue Devil women's soccer program. Church has led Duke to 42 victories and two NCAA Tournament appearances over the last three years and boasts his most experienced squad since arriving in Durham back in 2001.
The Blue Devils returned 10 of 11 starters and 22 of 25 letterwinners off last year's 15-8 overall and 5-4 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) squad. Church led Duke to an NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearance and the five league victories was the most since 1997. For his efforts, Church was named NSCAA/adidas South Region Coach of the Year in 2005. In his five years at Duke, Church has registered a 59-38-5 record.
Church, who replaced former head coach Bill Hempen in 2001, is only the second coach in the program's 17-year history. Over the past four years, Church has brought in recruiting classes rated in the top-20 by Soccerbuzz.com- seventh in 2002, eighth in 2003 and 20th in 2004.
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