DURHAM, N.C. – The 14th-ranked Duke women’s soccer team registered its fourth straight shutout as the Blue Devils blanked Yale on Sunday afternoon at Koskinen Stadium in Durham, N.C.  The Blue Devils improved to 5-1-1 overall, while Yale dropped to 1-3-0.  

 

“We had 61 shots and two shutouts -- that is a great weekend,” said Duke Head Coach Robbie Church.  “I am sure we would like to score a few more goals and they will come.  As long as we create the chances is the main thing we are looking for.”

 

The Blue Devils came out on the attack to start the match as Duke took the first seven shots of the contest over the fist 16 minutes.  Yale goalkeeper Ayana Sumiyasu kept the match all square until the 29th minute.

 

Duke senior Gretchen Miller headed a ball that went off a Bulldog defender to lead to a Blue Devil corner kick.  Local Durham, N.C., product Mollie Pathman sent a perfect left-footed ball in front of the goal where sophomore Maddy Haller was there to head in her first career goal to give Duke a 1-0 lead.


“It is always good to see it go in,” commented Church.  “I think we would have felt a little better if we would have seen a couple more [goals].  We didn’t have the same focus on Friday night -- we had better focus tonight.  Both Yale and FIU are good defensively.”

 

The Blue Devils continued to stay on the attack throughout the first half as Duke concluded the first 45 minutes with a 17-2 shot advantage.  Sumiyasu had nine saves in the net for Yale.

 

“I thought we were brilliant in the first half,” said Church.  “I thought we were really, really good.  Probably the best half we had all year.  Should have been up three or four but the goalkeeper made some really good saves.”

 

The second half featured a 13-5 shot advantage for the Blue Devils but Duke could not put the match away.  The attack duo of Pathman and freshman Laura Weinberg combined to take nine shots on the afternoon as the Blue Devils put pressure on Sumiyasu all afternoon.

 

Duke goalkeeper Tara Campbell came up with one of her biggest stops of the match just seven minutes into the second stanza as Becky Brown of Yale beat the Blue Devil defense and found herself in a one-v-one with Campbell.  A product of Cincinnati, Ohio, Campbell made a great decision to charge at Brown and registered a diving stop before she could get a shot off.

 

“We had a ton of shots in both games so it is good to finally see one put in the net,” said Campbell.  “I think we played good enough to win both of our games so it is good to get the outcome that we played for.”

 

For the match, Duke held a 30-7 shot advantage.  Campbell finished with her third solo shutout of the season as she compiled four saves in 90 minutes.  The Blue Devils now own a streak of 395.53 minutes without allowing a goal.

 

“I don’t think the shutouts are due to what I have done,” said Campbell.  “My back four has been outstanding -- it has been changing a lot.  We have been subbing many players in and I think they have all held their own.  They are all fighting to get their starting position.  I cannot say enough about how our team defending has been.”

 

The Blue Devils will remain at home for the Duke Nike Classic next weekend with No. 1 North Carolina, No. 6 Florida and Middle Tennessee State coming to town.  North Carolina will take on Middle Tennessee at 3:00 p.m., to open the classic on Friday, Sept. 17.  Duke will then host Florida at 8:30 p.m., on Friday in a contest that will be aired live on Fox Soccer Channel.  In-between the two women’s soccer games on Friday, the Duke men’s soccer team will host North Carolina at 6:30 p.m.

 

“We are really looking forward to this weekend -- what a great soccer weekend here at Duke,” said Church.  “We are really looking forward to the opportunity of playing Florida.”