DURHAM, N.C. – For the second consecutive season, Duke University senior Molly Lester made her presence felt in the season opener for the Blue Devils as she collected her second career game-winning goal in a 2-0 victory for the Blue Devil women’s soccer team against Army on Friday evening at Koskinen Stadium.  

Duke improved to 1-0 on the season, while Army fell to 0-1.  The Blue Devils will turn around and host 21st-ranked South Carolina on Sunday, Aug. 21 at 2:00 p.m.  

“I couldn’t ask for a better start,” said Duke Head Coach Robbie Church.  “We created a lot of opportunities, obviously we could have finished a couple more. As far as commitment and energy we couldn’t have asked for more. We still have to find the right combinations out there. This was better than it was on Saturday versus William & Mary. We have to take it to another level with South Carolina coming in.”

After allowing only six goals last season by the Army defense, Duke needed to jump on the Black Knights quickly and the Blue Devils did just that.  In the opening minute, junior goalkeeper Tara Campbell sent a great ball down the middle of the field to a streaking Mollie Pathman.  Pathman, a product of Durham, N.C., jumped to meet the ball off the first bounce along with an Army defender and the ball went to the right of the box.

Black Knight goalkeeper Monica Lee charged toward the ball on the left side of the box, but Pathman was able to beat Lee to the rock and sent a cross into the middle of the open box to Lester.  A native of Atlanta, Ga., Lester chipped in her fifth career goal past the Army defenders from eight yards out.  The goal 50 seconds into the match is the second-quickest tally since Lorraine Quinn posted a goal 48 seconds into the contest with Clemson on Oct. 26, 2008.

“I think it was crucial,” commented Lester on getting the goal early.  “Hopefully it paved the way for all of the first half and even continuing into the game. It was a good finish and a 2-0 win is a solid win. Now we can move onto the game this weekend.”

The tally from Lester marked the second straight year she has registered Duke’s first goal of the season as she scored the lone goal at Georgia to open the 2010 campaign.  On the assist was Pathman and Campbell, who notched her first career dish.  

“Molly sacrificed a lot to come back,” commented Church on Lester.  “It hasn’t been easy for her coming from Fuqua [Business School], she has had to miss some practices, and she has had to run from class to make it to a lot of practices. She’s got a knack of finding big goals for us. We appreciate her commitment back to our program.”

Duke went on to continue to pressure the Army defense and attempted nine more shots, including one of post from redshirt junior Ashley Rape and one off the crossbar from Pathman.  

The Blue Devils were able to put a second goal of the match on the scoreboard in the 38th minute.  Rape fired a free kick from 40 yards to a leaping freshman Audrey Gibson, who headed a great ball to redshirt sophomore Callie Simpkins.  Simpkins, who is out of Concord, N.C., headed in her fifth career goal from five yards out.

Sophomore Gilda Doria and Gibson added shots before the end of the first stanza, which featured Duke holding a 13-0 shot advantage.  

Church came out in the second half with a different lineup that featured two freshmen up top -- Kelly Cobb and Katy Colas -- who made their college debuts.  Cobb, a highly-rated rookie from Chugiak, Alaska, attempted two shots in her 29 minutes of action on the night.  

The Blue Devils added three other shots in the second half and didn’t allow Army to attempt a shot until the 84th minute off the leg of Julia Stallard.  

Picking up the shutout in goal for the Blue Devils was Campbell, who played the entire 90 minutes of action.  The shutout for the product of Cincinnati, Ohio, is the 15th of her career.  In the net for Army, Lee notched six saves in 90 minutes.

“It’s a great boost,” said Lester on scoring two early goals.  “We’ve worked on our offensive attack all week. It was great to execute on that. They were a tough team, my hats off to them, they were a good team.”

For the night, Duke played 22 student-athletes with 12 different Blue Devils attempting at least one shot.  Pathman led Duke with three, while sophomore Laura Weinberg, Ashley Rape, Avery Rape and Cobb each had two.  

“I was pleased with everything,” said Church.  “I felt today we had a lot of people show well and a lot of people raised their game. Overall, it was a really solid performance. I’m looking forward to us playing South Carolina -- they are a nationally ranked team coming from a solid conference. It’s going to be a challenge for us.”

Notes:

•  Freshman Katie Trees did not dress due to a knee injury.

•  Duke held a 13-0 advantage in corner kicks.  

•  The Blue Devils are 5-0-1 in the last six season openers, including a 12-0 all-time record in home season openers.

•  Ashley Rape played a team-high of 84 minutes as Duke’s central defender.  


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