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Women's Soccer
vs #25 Clemson
Duke Concludes Season No. 15 In NSCAA National Poll
12/14/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
DURHAM, N.C.? After advancing to the quarterfinals of the NCAA College Cup, the Duke women's soccer team received a final national ranking of No. 15 in the NSCAA/adidas post season listing released on Dec. 12.
Coming off a regular season where the Blue Devils totaled six ties and five losses to go along with eight victories, Duke was elated to get the opportunity to have a second season in the NCAA College Cup.
The Blue Devils took advantage of their fifth straight NCAA Tournament invitation as they collected a 4-1 penalty kick victory over 21st-ranked South Carolina in the first round. In the second round, Duke had to play on the 13th-ranked Georgia Bulldogs home field and registered a 1-0 win to advance to the fourth NCAA Sweet 16 in school history.
After Indiana upset second-seeded Purdue in the second round, the Blue Devils traveled to Bloomington, Ind., to take on the Hoosiers. Duke's defense collected its second straight shutout as the Blue Devils won 2-0 to advance to the quarterfinals.
Duke had to then travel to Notre Dame, Ind., the next week to face the one of the top offensive teams in the nation -- 12th-ranked Notre Dame, who had knocked off top-seeded North Carolina the week before.
The Blue Devils got down 1-0 early and trailed 2-0 in the second half before making an incredible comeback. Duke scored two goals by junior Kelly Hathorn and sophomore CJ Ludemann in a span of 4:22 to even the match. It marked the first time since 1996 that a team had come back from being down 2-0 against Notre Dame and tied the score. The Irish added the game-winning goal with 13 minutes remaining to advance to the Final Four.
Duke's miraculous run came to an end but the Blue Devils will look to build on their experience and make another championship run in 2008. Losing only two seniors -- Allison Lipsher and Andrea Crane -- Duke will feature 10 returning starters next season, while welcoming another stellar recruiting class.
Lipsher, who finished her career with 33 shutouts in goal for the Blue Devils, will be the only starter needing to be replaced in 2008. Rising senior Cassidy Powers will be the front-runner for the starting nod but two incoming freshmen will also challenge for playing time.
The Blue Devils will feature some of the best depth they have had in a long time at every position next year, which includes 11 players who scored at least one goal from last season. Duke's defensive line headed by Kelly McCann, Christie McDonald, Sara Murphy, Gretchen Miller and Meaghan FitzGerald will return after guiding Duke to nine shutouts.
After obtaining two years of collegiate experience under their belt, Elisabeth Redmond and Ludemann will return for their junior campaigns after leading Duke in scoring. Redmond, who is a product of Morristown, N.J., led the Blue Devils with eight goals, 12 assists and four game-winning goals. Her 12 assists was the second-most in a single season at Duke. A native of Holtsville, N.Y., Ludemann added five goals and eight assists for 18 points.
Head Coach Robbie Church will enter his eighth season with the Blue Devils, coming off guiding Duke to double-digit wins for the fourth time in his stint with the Blue Devils.
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