The Blue Devils said all week they deserved to host the opening two rounds of the 2004 NCAA Tournament. They proved it by defeating third-seeded Virginia 3-0 in one of the biggest wins in school history in Charlottesville, Va., Sunday
he Blue Devils said all week they deserved to host the opening two rounds of the 2004 NCAA Tournament.
They proved it by defeating third-seeded Virginia 3-0 in one of the biggest wins in school history in Charlottesville, Va., Sunday.
“It just feels really good to have gotten over a hurdle like we just did,” junior Carolyn Riggs said. “After not getting a home bid like we thought we might, and after going to Virginia and not being given any respect and all the talk about who was going to beat Virginia, it just feels really good to prove something like this to the whole country. It wasn’t even a close score. We came out of here with a 3-0 win.”
With the victory, No. 18 Duke (15-7) travels to No. 10 UCLA for the Sweet 16. It will be the Blue Devils’ first trip to the round of 16 in their last seven NCAA appearances.
Duke and the Cavaliers (17-3-2) battled to a scoreless tie in the first half Sunday, but in the second period the Blue Devils’ offense awoke. Six minutes into the half, Duke took a corner kick that traveled through the box to an open Kate Seibert. The junior collected the ball and nailed a bending shot off the far goal post and into the net.
“Just before the kick me and Carolyn Ford, who were both targets, were trying to figure out who should go back post,” said Seibert, who had noticed that corners had been getting through the box earlier in the game. “When the ball came to me, I kept telling myself to keep the ball on the field, and it went in the goal.”
Facing only a one-goal deficit, the ACC Tournament champion Cavaliers remained confident after continuing to get good scoring opportunities, having out-shot Duke 5-1 in the opening half. Five minutes after the Blue Devils’ initial score, Seibert connected on a through ball to Carolyn Riggs for a breakaway goal to extend the lead to 2-0 and Virginia had to alter its game plan.
From that point on the Cavaliers sent more attackers into Duke’s half of the field and the Blue Devils took advantage. In a play similar to the previous score, senior Casey McCluskey sent a long pass through the Virginia defense to Sarah McCabe, who finished the opportunity to the far post.
“I thought we were all right down 1-0,” Virginia head coach Steve Swanson said. “But once they got the second one it changed the complexion of the game and changed how we had to play.”
Freshman goalie Allison Lipsher made three saves, leading Duke’s defense to its 12th shutout of the season, one short of the team’s single-season record.
“I thought Allison played exceptional in goal behind our very strong back four,” head coach Robbie Church said. “Her presence was great. She was in the zone, and we knew that it would take a great effort for Virginia to score and that relaxed us a lot.”
Duke was lucky to reach the half with the game still scoreless, as a hard-hit Lindsay Gusick shot ricocheted off the crossbar and straight down without crossing the goal line. Church said if the ball had gone in, it would have been devastating for his team, but instead the Blue Devils responded by taking their game to a new level in the second period.
To set up Sunday’s ACC showdown, Duke beat Virginia Commonwealth on a rainy and cold Friday night. VCU’s Shelly Lyle scored on a header 21 minutes into play, but the Blue Devils clawed back for the 2-1 win. Seibert described the game as one of Duke’s worst of the season, but Church added that the team did what it needed to: “Survive and advance.”
“This is great because we worked for everything,” Church said. “We’ve been very, very competitive in every game we played. It’s great to see all the smiles and get rewarded for that at this stage.”
Next Saturday the Blue Devils will take on the Bruins, who defeated San Diego 3-0 Sunday afternoon in their second-round match. UCLA won 2-1 last season when the two teams met in Durham.
“None of the girls on this team right now has gotten this far in the tournament,” Riggs said. “Knowing that only 16 teams are still playing, we’re just excited. Once we get over this excitement, there is no other team we’d like to play than UCLA.”
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