Sept. 18, 2009
DURHAM, N.C. - Duke's Chelsea Canepa was able to beat Auburn goalkeeper Amy Howard with just two minutes and 53 seconds remaining in the second overtime as Auburn was handed a heartbreaking, 2-1, loss in double-overtime to Duke in the Duke Nike Cup on Friday evening.
"We had our chances. This is really a heartbreaking loss," Auburn Head Coach Karen Hoppa said. "We should have put it away in the first overtime and we should have put it away in the second overtime. We had chances in both overtimes and the second half. On the road you are not going to get the breaks and you're not going to get the luck so you have to make your own luck. We had such good, quality looks that we didn't score on and that was the difference in the game."
Canepa took a Maddy Haller cross from the left and settled the ball before blasting a shot to the left corner for her fifth goal of the year and the win at the 107:07 mark, improving Duke's record to 4-3-1 while dropping Auburn's to 3-2-2.
Katy Frierson had a chance to win the match just two minutes into the first overtime but her long-range shot was easily grabbed by Campbell. Rebecca Howell also had a chance to end it with just 33 seconds remaining in the first overtime period but her shot from the top of the six during a 3-on-3 went just outside of the post.
Frierson and Howell almost connected for the game-winner in the 103rd minute as Howell fed Frierson a free look 20 yards out but her shot kept on rising and went out over the Duke net. Kendell Bradley also had a chance to finish it earlier in the second overtime but her shot from 10 yards out went wide.
Great play by both goalkeepers mandated the overtime match as Auburn's Amy Howard and Duke's Tara Campbell each made three saves in the second half to keep the match tied at 1-1.
Howard was tested just 30 seconds into the second half, making a diving stop on an Elisabeth Redmond shot from the top of the 18 while Campbell made an equally impressive save on Mary Coffed's shot from just inside the 18 in the 57th minute. Howard answered with another stop of a Duke free look as KayAnne Gummersall raced into the 18 following a free kick in the 65th minute but she fired it right into the arms of Howard.
The great saves continued in the 69th minute as King tried to go upper 90 from 25 yards out but Campbell was up to the task, tipping the shot just in time to prevent the go-ahead goal for Auburn. Two minutes later a Fransoso one-timer following a Katy Frierson corner kick was also stopped by Campbell before Howard answered by putting her mitts on a Rebecca Allen shot from the top of the 18.
"Amy has been great. She certainly isn't playing like a freshman," Hoppa said. "You can't fault her on either of Duke's goals. She did such a fantastic job in the first half, tipping out an upper-90 free kick, which is one of the hardest saves to make. We started out flat in the second half and Duke came down in the first minute and had a point-blank look but she held that too. She was absolutely fantastic. "
Howell scored for the second straight game to put Auburn up, 1-0, in the 27th minute. Caitlin King set Howell up on a 3-on-2 breakaway with Howell in the middle and King on the far side. King threaded a pass to Howell at the top of the 18 and she ripped it in for her second goal of the season and 16th of her career. King's assist was her third of the season and 21st of her career.
A Sammy Towne save in the 23rd minute enabled Auburn to take the one-goal lead as she stopped a Cody Newman shot from just inside the 18 with Howard out of position after she was unable to cover a loose ball inside the box.
Duke was able to tie the match at 1-1 in the 37th minute, capitalizing on three consecutive corners with a Carey Goodman goal being the end result. Duke had been on the doorstep of scoring just moments earlier as Howard made a fingertip save of a Redmond free kick in the 36th minute from 30 yards out. The shot looked like it would sneak under the crossbar before Howard redirected it over the bar and out of play, resulting in the first Duke corner of the sequence.
The overtime match was the third of the season for Auburn.
Auburn will close out the Duke Nike Classic on Sunday at 11am CT when it battles No. 1 North Carolina. The nation's top-ranked team defeated LSU, 1-0, in the tournament's opening match on Friday.