Up 3-1 against Tennessee with only six minutes remaining, Duke appeared to be in control of Friday�s season-opening contest. The Volunteers, however, did not quit and scored twice before the clock ran out. Then in overtime, it took Tennessee only seven minutes to score the game-winning goal. Duke came back Sunday to top Elon 5-0.
The Duke women’s soccer team appeared ready for a challenge when it traveled to Tennessee to take on the 11th-ranked Lady Volunteers (1-0) Friday night.
Poised for the upset with a 3-1 lead and only six minutes to go in regulation, the No. 18 Blue Devils (1-1) were stunned with two quick goals, sending the game into overtime. Seven minutes into the extra period, Tennessee’s Keeley Dowling put in a header that completed the 4-3 comeback victory.
“We had that game, we had it won,” head coach Robbie Church said. “Tennessee did some nice things and they capitalized on some opportunities.”
Having the lead from virtually the game’s outset, Duke’s frustration at the loss in its season opener was understandable. Carolyn Ford found Kate Seibert just 23 seconds into the contest for a 1-0 lead.
Twenty minutes later, the Blue Devils added another score, this time with Seibert assisting Darby Kroyer.
The two teams traded goals before the half and the Blue Devils went into the locker room incredibly confident and with a two-goal advantage.
Neither team was able to take advantage of its scoring chances for the first 40 minutes of the second half. With a crowd of more than 1,600 urging the Lady Volunteers on, Lindsey Patterson broke the drought, finding the net for the second time of the night.
Less than three minutes later, Duke freshman goalie Allison Lipsher, who recorded seven saves on the night, was beat again to even the score.
Although the Blue Devils remained aggressive early in the overtime period, they could not find the goal, and a Tennessee corner kick led to the decisive score.
“We started off playing awesome, and even throughout the entire game we played so well,” Seibert said. “It showed off how much potential we have, but it also obviously showed us that we have to play the full 90 minutes to win.”
Regardless, playing well in a hostile environment will help Duke build confidence.
“It was a heartbreaking loss, but we met on the bus coming home and you could see in their eyes and see their body language that this wasn’t going to ruin their season,” Church said. “They were going to turn it around.”
Sunday’s game provided that opportunity as the Blue Devils cruised to a 5-0 shutout against Elon (1-1).
Lorraine Quinn started the scoring action with her first collegiate goal. The freshman sent a shot from outside the penalty box that soared over the goalie’s outstretched arms and into the top right corner of the net.
Sophomore Sarah McCabe then added the first of her two goals on the evening, punching in a ball headed her direction.
“We really wanted to come out and just knock them on their heels, get a few early ones because we didn’t get the result we wanted at Tennessee,” McCabe said. “We really wanted to come out and punish this team.”
The superior talent of the Blue Devils showed as they out-shot the Phoenix 25-1, with Kroyer and Lauren Tippets each adding a goal. Church felt that they still needed to capitalize on their chances, as 13 shots yielded just two goals in the first half.
“We need to score more goals,” Church said. “We had some great looks. [In the] second half we scored some more goals and had some more opportunities. We need to be hungrier in the scoring areas.”
Rebounding from its agonizing defeat Friday with a solid performance in its home opener was crucial for Duke. This weekend may prove that sometimes a team can learn much more about itself from a loss than it ever could from a win.
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