Fall athletics kicked into full swing this weekend at Duke. Things didn’t go that well.
The number one ranked women’s soccer team beat Montreal 5-1 on Friday night in the UNC Nike Classic. Coach Robbie Church was disappointed with how his team started the game and played the first half. However, the Blue Devils completely dominated the second half.
Duke outshot Montreal, 26-1.
However the Blue Devils fell to number 20 Florida on Sunday, 3-2 in OT. They took an early 2-0 lead and dominated the first 20 minutes. However the Gators went on a 3-0 run, which was the most the Blue Devils have allowed since October of 2010.
Defender Natasha Anasi felt that they had some mental lapses after they took the 2-0 lead and good teams will make them pay. It was another game that Coach Church was disappointed about.
The Blue Devils head out to southern California to play in the Trojan Invitational on August 31st. They will face USC.
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The men’s soccer team lost their season opener on Saturday night to number 18 Notre Dame, 1-0. The Blue Devils were solid on defense, but the Irish scored a goal in the 76th minute. Goalie James Belshaw had seven saves.
Duke’s first shot on goal didn’t come until there were 17 minutes left in the opening half.
The Blue Devils started seven underclassman, with ten playing overall.
They open their home schedule in the John Rennie Invitational on August 31st against Santa Clara.
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The field hockey team went 1-1 in the their trip to Philadelphia this weekend. On Friday, they lost to number 24 Drexel, 1-0.
With less than 2:30 to play, Duke had two penalty corner chances to score, but the Drexel goalie made two great saves.
Drexel broke the scoreless tie with 18:40 left to play.
Duke led Drexel on penalty corners (14-7), but had less shots on goal (12-10).
On Sunday, the Blue Devils beat Temple, 2-1.
Six and half minutes into the first half, Duke scored its first goal of the 2012 season. Chelsea Amsley scored off a rebound from a penalty corner. The Owls tied the game early in the second half, but Duke came right back to retake the lead four minutes later.
The Blue Devils outshot Temple, 14-10.
The Blue Devils will play their home opener on August 31st against Princeton.
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The women’s volleyball team went 3-0 to win the Duke Invitational. They beat William & Mary to start the season with a sweep. The Blue Devils followed that up with a win over Fairfield, before sweeping UW-Milwaukee on Saturday night.
Ali McCurdy now has a total of 52 digs on the young season. Chelsea Cook (25 kills and 13 blocks), McCurdy, and Emily Sklar (32 kills and 28 digs over the weekend) were named to the All Tournament Team.
Next up for the Blue Devils is the Louisville Invitational that begins on August 31st.
