DURHAM, N.C. – After a slow first half, head coach Robbie Church lit a fire under the 22^nd-ranked Duke women’s soccer team as the Blue Devils went on to score three second half goals and knock off previously unbeaten and 18^th-ranked Arkansas, 3-0, to open the 2014 Duke Nike Classic at Koskinen Stadium.

 

With the victory, the Blue Devils won their third straight match to improve to 3-2 overall and will close the classic Sunday against sixth-ranked Penn State (3-1) at 2:30 p.m.  In the other match of the Duke Nike Classic, 14^th-ranked North Carolina netted a double-overtime goal to take down the Nittany Lions, 1-0, Friday evening.

 

In the first half, Arkansas started on the attack taking three out of the first four shots over the first 15 minutes of play.  Duke responded by outshooting the Razorbacks, 5-1, during the final 30 minutes of action. 

 

The Blue Devils held a 6-3 shot advantage over the first 45 minutes of play, but the score remained, 0-0. 

 

Church opened the second half with six reserves in the starting lineup that completed the first half and the decision proved to be an excellent move.  Duke continued to pressure the Arkansas defense and then Church inserted the starters into the match in the 57^th minute. 

 

The Blue Devils took two out of the next three shots and then connected on their first goal of the match at the 60:34 mark.  Sophomores Rebecca Quinn and Toni Payne connected with senior Kelly Cobb with some excellent passing to give Duke a 1-0 lead.  Cobb, who is from Chugiak, Alaska, finished the cross from Payne into the net off the underside of the crossbar for her second goal of the season. 

 

Arkansas would not back down and came right back at the Blue Devils taking seven shots and seven corner kicks over a span of 14 minutes.  The Duke defense stayed tough and kept the Razorbacks off the board. 

 

After some nifty dribbling up the left side of the pitch, Payne centered a perfect ball to a wide-open Cobb, who finished into the net to give Duke a 2-0 lead.  The two-goal game for Cobb was the third of her career and first since her freshman campaign. 

 

Duke kept peppering the Arkansas goal late in the match and with 23 second remaining, Payne placed a right-footed shot into the top left corner to close the contest with a 3-0 ledger.  Senior midfielder Gilda Doria tallied her first assist of the season and 21^st of her career. 

 

Payne, a product of Birmingham, Ala., scored a goal for the third straight match and now leads Duke with three goals, three assists and nine points.  All of her points have come over the last three matches. 

 

In goal for the Blue Devils, redshirt junior Ali Kershner registered her second shutout of the season and fifth of her career.  The Palo Alto, Calif., native had five saves on the night. 

 

For the match, Duke outshot Arkansas, 17-12, with Cobb and freshman Imani Dorsey finishing with a team-high three each. 

 

The Blue Devils will close the 2014 Duke Nike Classic Sunday, Sept. 7 as North Carolina will face Arkansas at 12:00 p.m., followed by Duke hosting Penn State.  All matches will be played at Koskinen Stadium and aired live on ESPN3.

 

 

Notes:

• Duke scored three goals for the second straight match.
• The Blue Devils have started at least four freshmen in each of the five matches to open the season.
• Gilda Doria has moved into a tie for seventh on the Duke all-time assist list with 21.
• Kelly Cobb now owns 24 career goals and is two away from moving into a tie for 10^th on the Duke all-time charts. 
• Duke was 0-2 to start the season when it did not score a first half goal prior to tonight.
• Toni Payne had three goals and five assists all if her freshman year.  She already has three goals, three assists and nine points through five matches.
• Kelly Cobb posted her eighth career game-winning goal, which ranks 12^th on the Duke charts.

 

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