KENNESAW, Ga. (AP) – On December 2, 2011 Mollie Pathman of the Duke women's soccer team scored two second-half goals as the Blue Devils beat Wake Forest, 4-1, to advance to the NCAA College Cup final.
''At this venue, the field is wider so there's more space to be played. I thought both teams got stretched out and didn't play as compact as they should, especially early,'' said Duke coach Robbie Church. ''We did a good job of changing the point of attack and finding our wide players. That really opened the field up for us.''
The Demon Deacons, who hadn't allowed more than two goals in a game all season long, pressured the Blue Devils early in the game, but Kim DeCesare put Duke in front midway through the first half when she connected off a corner kick from midfielder Nicole Lipp.
Pathman notched her first goal five minutes into the second half when she blasted a shot to the far post off a deflection to give the Blue Devils a 2-0 advantage.
Rachel Nuzzolese of Wake Forest converted a free kick in the second half to bring the Demon Deacons within one, but Duke responded shortly after.
Kaitlyn Kerr, a sophomore midfielder, became Duke's leading scorer in NCAA action when she sealed the victory with her sixth tournament goal.
Duke and Wake Forest faced off three times during the 2011 campaign. Duke won 2-0 at Wake Forest on Oct. 20, but fell 2-1 to the Demon Deacons in the ACC Tournament on Nov. 4.
The Blue Devils went on to face top-ranked Stanford in the NCAA College Cup Final, where they dropped a 1-0 decision.
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Duke Post-Match Press Conference
College Cup, Dec. 2, 2011: Duke 4, Wake Forest 1
Head Coach Robbie Church
Opening Statement...
"The goal at the end of the half was absolutely huge. It gave us the confidence to carry on. We talked about this in the press conference the other day. We haven't been a very good first half team. We tried almost everything and it showed. Getting that goal and knowing what a strong second half team we are was really big. I thought the girls played terrifically, both offensively and defensively. Another key was early in the first half, they had so many set plays and we did a great job of defending and didn't give anything up."
On if the wall setup during Wake Forest's free kick...
"We didn't have enough players. We should have had another player on the outside of the wall. It's something we will work on tomorrow. Rachel (Nuzzolese) struck it well. She has scored a couple of goals in set plays, we knew she was dangerous. We knew the call that happened in that part of the field would be a very dangerous situation. What a great response. I thought we did a great job responding right back. The PK call was huge. I liked our body language afterwards. I liked how we attacked. We played Mollie (Pathman) with the ball and she scrambled in there and got the PK. I thought it was a really big turning point in the game, once we were able to answer their goal."
On if there is any added pressure due to the athletic success at Duke...
"Our girls deal with that all the time. All the athletic teams deal with it because of the success of the other teams. Our team shares a building with men's soccer and the two lacrosse teams. We want to carry the load. We are excited. You can see it in the girls. This is something we have worked for since the beginning of August and we're 90 minutes away from it. Everybody is very excited."
On the play of Wake Forest's Katie Stengel...
Katie is a great player. She deserves the attention that every team gives her. We couldn't give her any room or space. We worked on that in the training room yesterday with the balls coming from the outside to in. I thought she gave us fits early in the game because we picked the wrong side to close her down. Instead of going to the back, she went to one side and was able to roll us and we ended up fouling her a lot. A couple of times we became too tight and they found the wide player and she became dangerous. Take away the first 20 minutes, and I thought we did a fantastic job on her."
On the play of Mollie Pathman...
"The old saying is big time players play in big time games. That's what Mollie Pathman is. She is a versatile player. She can play as a front runner, a wide front runner or a 4-4-2. She plays as an attacking back for the national team. What a world-class service she has with that left foot. She could play balls as you saw on the end line. I would hate to be a defender and having Molly run at me because you are not really sure what she is going to do."
Sophomore Forward Mollie Pathman
On her reaction to scoring her first goal...
"I just stuck my foot out. Kellie did a great job of pulling it back in and getting the deflection. I was just lucky to be able to finish it."
On if there was a pressure facing Wake Forest Goalkeeper Aubrey Bledsoe during the penalty kick...
"Aubrey (Bledsoe) is an amazing keeper. We've been friends for a while and were on the youth national team together. It was funny to take a PK against her. There was definitely some talking going on, but I tried to focus in. I saw her go early to the other side and just had to pass it in. I tend to get very relaxed right before I take a PK."
Sophomore Midfielder Kim DeCesare
On scoring the first goal...
"I just saw it in front of me and didn't see it again until it went into the goal. We started to play better and we knew a goal was coming."
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