Elon Women’s Soccer Suffers Road Setback at #2/1 Duke

DURHAM, N.C. – The Elon University women’s soccer team could not recover from a barrage of early goals by the No. 2/1 ranked Duke Blue Devils on Sunday night, August 19, as the Phoenix fell, 8-0, at Koskinen Stadium in Durham.

“Duke is an excellent team with tremendous athletes,” said Elon head coach Chris Neal. “Even in a loss like tonight, our team got better and learned a lot.”

The Blue Devils wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, as Kaitlyn Kerr knocked it past Catherine Brinkman near the right post to put the Phoenix behind, 1-0, in the third minute.

Five minutes later, Duke took a 2-0 advantage after Glida Doria scored off a rebound from a previous save by Brinkman. The Blue Devils took a three-goal advantage in the 22nd minute when Kim DeCesare scored on a pass from Cassie Pecht.

Elon nearly cut the deficit to two goals in the 30th minute when Raychel Diver found Nicole Dennion alone in the middle of the box in front of Duke’s goal, but the rookie was called offside.

The Blue Devils kept their foot on the gas in the second frame, netting five goals to seal the victory.

Tonight marked the first time since the 1990 season and only the second time ever that Elon has faced the nation’s top-ranked team. Elon opened its 1990 campaign at No. 1 ranked North Carolina. Duke is ranked No. 1 in the Soccer America Poll and No. 2 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Continental Tire Poll.

Elon returns to action on Friday, August 24, at VMI in Lexington, Va. The Phoenix’s next home match is slated for August 30 against Coastal Carolina.