Women's soccer upsets another top-5 team

CHAPEL HILL - Coming off a 4-1 loss to Notre Dame, questions lingered about whether the women's soccer team could bounce back against Penn State, another top-five team, in its very next game.

Sherrill Kester and her teammates provided a resounding 'Yes' to that question by downing the fifth-ranked Nittany Lions 2-1 in the opening game of the Nike Carolina Classic Friday at Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill. The Blue Devils (5-1) followed up that effort with a dominating 2-0 victory against Colorado (3-2) yesterday.

With the score tied 1-1 in the 58th minute against Penn State (3-1), Kester took a pass from forward Sarah Pickens in the penalty area and drilled one off the fingertips of goalkeeper Emily Oleksiuk. The ball ricocheted off the left goalpost and trickled into the net.

The goal halted a surging Penn State team that had gotten the equalizer with just a minute left in the first half on a miscue by goalkeeper Isis Dallis.

"[Kester] can do anything," coach Bill Hempen said. "If she sees a hole, she'll plug it. Whether it's in the offense, whether it's in the defense, because she desperately wants to win."

Although Duke's newly installed defensive line limited Penn State to only two chances the remainder of the game, the cushion was nearly not enough. With 15 seconds left in the contest, the Nittany Lions worked the ball from their own goal all the way downfield, and midfielder Kris Phillips found only Dallis between her and the goal with five ticks left.

Phillips rocketed one past a challenging Dallis, but the ball sailed just high over the crossbar, sealing Duke's win but nearly giving Hempen a coronary.

"If we would have gotten to the corner [on our offensive possession], they wouldn't have ever gotten that chance-I was dying," the coach said.

"It's just great to be back," Speights said. "There was one point where I wasn't sure if I would ever play again. I'm thankful to God for giving me the ability to come out here and play again. I'm just giving everything I have."

Just nine minutes after Speights' goal, Kester capped off a brilliant weekend with a sensational score. After receiving the ball at the top of the box, Kester deked and juked her way past two Colorado defenders and pushed a bullet to the right of the goalkeeper.

"[Kester] is unbelievable," Speights said. "She's a very consistent, solid player. She's done a great job in every game."

While the score might not have indicated the degree of Duke's dominance, the Blue Devils did outshoot the Buffaloes 30-6, and limited Colorado to only one real scoring opportunity early in the first half.

The win wrapped up a brutal six-game stretch to open the season that featured zero home games and three games against teams ranked in the top five. By winning five of their first six games, the Blue Devils erased the painful memories of last year's winless ACC campaign and, more importantly, climbed back on to the national scene.

"We wanted to earn back respect," Kester said. "By beating two ranked teams, I think we have done that. We have a tougher mentality; we know we can beat good teams. We don't accept anything less than the best."

Notes: Sophomore Kasey Truman remained sidelined with a knee injury and will likely be out until next week.... Freshman Brigid Bowdell, who scored Duke's first goal against Penn State, suffered a badly sprained ankle early in the second half against Colorado.