Nov. 13, 2009
| | Rutgers Press Conference |
| Duke Press Conference |
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Kelsey Dumont and April Price each registered goals and senior goalkeeper Erin Guthrie tallied her 11th shutout of the season as Rutgers defeated Duke 2-0 on Friday evening in NCAA Women’s Soccer First Round action at Stone Stadium on the campus of the University of South Carolina. The Scarlet Knights improve to 14-3-4 on the year and advance to play the winner of this evening’s South Carolina-Davidson match on Sunday, Nov. 15 at 1 p.m. ET. Duke ends its season at 8-9-4 on the year.
The Scarlet Knights would score a goal in each half on the way to victory. Despite Duke controlling a majority of offensive action in the first half, it would be Rutgers that would find the back of the net first in the 42nd minute with a goal by junior forward Kelsey Dumont. Rutgers defender Julie Lancos launched a direct kick from near midfield that went over the head of a Blue Devil defender and took a bounce inside the penalty box that Dumont was able to put a foot on with a shot that found the far corner of the goal giving the Scarlet Knights a one-goal cushion. The goal for Dumont was her third of the season. Lancos tallied her second assist with Rheanne Sleiman also credited for her third assist of the year.
April Price gave the Scarlet Knights a little insurance in the second half with a goal at the 75th minute. Rutgers forward Karla Schacher was able to play a ball into the Duke penalty box that saw Price beat a Blue Devil defender on her run. With a 1 v 1 opportunity, Price nicked a shot past Duke keeper Tara Campbell giving the Scarlett Knights a two-goal cushion.
Duke held a 15-9 advantage in shots in the match in defeat. Midfielder Jane Alukonis and midfielder Nicole Lipp each had three shots for the Blue Devils. Guthrie ended the evening with five saves for Rutgers. Campbell finished with two saves for the Blue Devils and set a Duke single-season record with 94 saves on the year.
After an early shot by Rutgers, the Blue Devils would hold control of play for a majority of the first half, registering six shots. Senior forward KayAnne Gummersall recorded the first shot for Duke with a header off a corner kick in the fourth minute of play that nicked the right post. Duke kept up the attack in the first half with a shot on goal at 20:05 as senior forward Elisabeth Redmond knocked a shot on net only to be denied by Guthrie.
The Blue Devils also created several chances near the 30th minute as Gummersall registered her second shot at 29:08 that was deflected and resulted in Duke’s third corner of the match. Duke kept the pressure on then as Jane Aulkonis controlled the corner ball just inside the “18” and knocked a shot on to the goal that was saved by Rutgers goalkeeper Erin Guthrie. Less than a minute later, Chelsea Canepa added her first shot of the match just outside the “six” off a cross that went just wide of the left post. Kristie Lang put Rutgers’ first shot on goal in the 38th minute that was saved by Blue Devils keeper Tara Campbell. Maija Savics, in her first appearance of the season, would keep Rutgers in the advantage in the 40th minute with a shot just outside the penalty box that went wide left of the goal. That would be a precursor for the Scarlet Knights as they broke ahead at 41:39 on Dumont’s goal. Duke finished the half with a 6-4 advantage in shots with both teams registering two on goal.
The pace of play picked up in the second half as both teams created chances on the offensive end. In the 50th minute Duke put another shot on goal as a corner kick was directed by midfielder Nicole Lipp, who knocked a header just wide of the far post. A minute later Stefanee Pace almost gave the Scarlet Knights a score with a shot just above the “18” that was saved by Campbell. Rebecca Allen struck for the Blue Devils in the early portion of the 54th minute with a shot from just outside the “18” only to have Guthrie come up with her fourth save of the match. Pace’s third shot at 54:50 sailed wide of the Duke goal. The Blue Devils kept the pressure on as Aulkonis put a strong shot on net in the 59th minute only to see Rutgers defender Julie Lancos block the shot as she jumped high enough to get her head on it deflecting the Duke attempt just wide of the net. Rutgers would get a good look at the 66th minute as Maura McLaughlin put a shot just high and wide of the goal. Price’s goal that put RU up 2-0 came at 74:56 of the match.
