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Cobb leads Blue Devils in ACC tourney opener

Kelly Cobb scored her 10th goal—sixth game-winner—of the season Sunday.
Kelly Cobb scored her 10th goal—sixth game-winner—of the season Sunday.

Duke has had little trouble scoring this season, but it has rarely done so early in games. The Blue Devils have been held scoreless in the first half multiple times this season, especially in the most recent five-game stretch, where they have recorded no first-half goals. Sunday afternoon against Virginia Tech, however, head coach Robbie Church and his team were relieved to see that their first goal came within the first three minutes of regulation, when freshman standout Kelly Cobb played a deflection into the left corner of the goal.

“We were [early scorers] early in the year,” Church said. “We emphasize that first goal, and getting that first goal early.”

Cobb’s goal would be the only scoring of the day, and No. 4 Duke (17-2-1) overcame their first obstacle in their quest for an ACC championship, defeating the Hokies (12-7-1) 1-0 at Koskinen Stadium.

The lone goal was also Cobb’s sixth game-winner of the year, as she continues her phenomenal freshman season. In total, she has scored 10 goals, which, in addition to her seven assists, giving her 27 points on the season, sixth in the ACC.

What those statistics cannot capture is her intensity on the field. In Sunday’s game, she spearheaded most of Duke’s offensive possessions, taking four shots—three of which were on goal—and provided plenty of opportunities for assists that were not converted. Overall, her 70 shots this season rank second in Duke history for a freshman.

“I think we know what’s on the line. It’s tournament time, so it’s win or go home,” Cobb said. “We came out to win today. And I think that showed.”

With that goal in mind, the Duke offense dominated the entire first half. The Blue Devils took 11 shots, compared to the five taken by the Hokies.

Virginia Tech could not find the net, but it did manage to find goalkeeper Tara Campbell on one of their few promising offensive possessions. Midway through the first half, Hokie forward Jazmine Reeves collided with Campbell, resulting in an ugly injury that stopped game play. Campbell had to be escorted off the field and was unable to play the remainder of the contest.

“[Campbell] got booted across the face,” Church said. “Her nose is probably broken.... She’s going to be fine. We just have to get her home and in bed. Doctors will look at her tomorrow. Hopefully she’ll be ready to go on Friday.”

She was replaced by redshirt freshman Meghan Thomas, who made her second-ever collegiate appearance. If anything, her first taste of NCAA action certainly came at a critical juncture, as the Blue Devils were attempting to win their first ACC tournament match since 2005.

“Tara is absolutely amazing,” Thomas said. “When she went down, it was obviously very unfortunate. It caused a lot of stress on the team. But in practice, Tara and I have been competing and pushing each other. I think that helped me with the pressure.”

In an impressive showing, Thomas was able to handle the pressure of Virginia Tech’s increasingly aggressive offense later in the game. In the second half, the Hokies posted a 9-3 advantage in corner kicks, and created more and more opportunities to score.

“Our legs were getting tired,” Church said. “Anytime the team is down a goal, they’re going to push more and take chances. They will take risks. They changed their formation a little bit. They started to get confidence.”

Fortunately for the Blue Devils, Thomas and the backs managed to quell any attempt to push the game into overtime, allowing Duke to advance further into the tournament than it has in six years.

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