As Gamecock Kortney Rhoades bore down on the Duke goal unmarked in the 64th minute, goalkeeper Tara Campbell was the only Blue Devil left who could keep Duke’s lead at 1-0. After threatening all half, South Carolina had its best chance to score, but Campbell was not going to let the No. 21 Gamecocks (1-1-0) back into the game. The junior stretched out just as Rhoades connected with the shot, reaching out to save it with her right foot.
Moments later the ball was up at the other end of the field at the feet of Kaitlyn Kerr. Kerr moved past a defender and unleashed a shot with her right foot. She could not have struck it sweeter, as the ball sailed past the outstretched arms of the goalkeeper and into the top corner, giving No. 12 Duke (2-0-0) a 2-0 lead that would hold until the end of the game.
The victory was the Blue Devils’ second of the weekend after beating Army on Friday, 2-0.
“To make a save like that pumps some life into the team,” Campbell said. “We needed that goal cause they were pressing us and to be up two nothing was big.”
Junior Nicole Lipp put the Blue Devils on the board just seven minutes into the game. Lipp took the ball off a throw-in and dribbled towards the goal before hitting a shot from outside the box that could not have been any more accurate, hitting the post and going in to give Duke its lead.
“Nicole can hit a ball,” Duke head coach Robbie Church said. “It was big. It didn’t matter who got it, but to get it early in the match to make it 1-0, especially in this heat. It was a huge goal for us to get.”
Duke then continued to dominate possession while trying to build on the lead, taking thirteen shots in the first half compared to South Carolina’s two.
“It was a fantastic first half,” Church said. “We played really well and created a lot of opportunities… I thought it was a really solid performance.”
In the second half, however, the Gamecocks stepped up the pressure and asserted themselves, looking for an equalizer. South Carolina had more possession in this half and took a total of six shots forcing Campbell to make four big saves. In contrast, the Blue Devils only took four shots in the second period.
“South Carolina is a great team, a nationally-ranked team, picked second in the SEC and they go to the NCAA Tournament every year,” Church said. “I knew they would come back at us hard in the second half.”
It took one brilliant team play to change the game as South Carolina pressured the Duke defense. The one-on-one save by Campbell turned into a swift counter-attacking move led to a great finish showing off Kerr’s improved game.
“That’s part of my game that I need to work on,” Kerr said. “Going on-goal and getting off shots will take my game to the next level…. That’s what they told me when I came off in the first half, the second half I came out and tried to do what they said, and it worked.”
It might have been even more lopsided had Duke been able to convert more of the first half chances it created. Late in the opening period the crowd thought that the Blue Devils had scored a second goal— the scoreboard even showed it—however the shot landed on the roof of the net rather than in it.
“We’ve got to get better in the final third,” Church said. “And we will… we’ll get players back. We’re not in sync in that area, but its August 21st. There’s still a long way to go.”
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