COLUMBIA, S.C. - On a beautiful Friday afternoon in Columbia, S.C., the Duke women's soccer team saw its 2009 season come to an end, falling to the 12th-ranked Rutgers Scarlet Knights, 2-0, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Both teams showed their nerves early, with neither team able to keep possession of the ball for more than five passes in the first half.

The Scarlet Knights took the first shot of the match, but the first real opportunity presented itself to the Blue Devils, as a Rutgers defender headed a long Gretchen Miller free kick over the endline for a corner. Off the ensuing cross from senior Elisabeth Redmond, fellow senior forward KayAnne Gummersall found the service and headed it on target, where Scarlet Knights goalie Erin Guthrie pushed the ball into the post before collecting it.

Five minutes later, a Rutgers turnover inside its half led to another Duke opportunity as midfielder Cody Newman found Redmond running into the box, but the ball was taken away by a closing defender.

The Scarlet Knights had their first corner of the game 12 minutes into the half, but nothing significant came of the opportunity.

The Blue Devils began to settle down and move the ball around, switching fields quickly and effectively through efficient one-touch passing. One such sequence led to Newman open on the left and she had a nifty crossing pass to an onrushing Redmond, whose shot attempt was straight at the goalie.
With approximately 18 minutes to play in the first half, Duke began to impose its will on Rutgers as the Blue Devils controlled possession and had numerous chances. Substitute Chelsea Canepa had a golden opportunity on a cross from Kendall Bradley, as the ball traveled across the box right into her path. Her shot across goal was just wide of the left post.

Following a Duke corner and subsequent stifling of the Scarlet Knights' counterattack, it appeared that senior Jane Alukonis played a perfect ball to a charging Gummersall and a one-v-one with the keeper -- the flag had gone up, however.

A long Rutgers free kick from defender Julia Lancos inside the Scarlet Knights half was not cleared by the Blue Devils defense and Rheanne Sleiman found the ball and directed it to Kelsey Dumont, who calmly slotted it into the lower right corner for her third goal of the season.
At the end of the first half, Duke held a 6-4 shot advantage.

The Scarlet Knights came out of halftime searching for a second goal, immediately getting a corner off of the restart. Six minutes later, Stefanee Pace hit a rocket from 22 yards out that Blue Devil goalkeeper Tara Campbell made a diving save to keep out of the back of the net.

Forward Rebecca Allen had Duke's first chance of the second half, corralling a long entry ball from Marybeth Kreger, turning and shooting with her left foot. The Scarlet Knights goalie easily made the save though.

With 15 minutes gone in the second half, the Blue Devils had an excellent opportunity as Alukonis teed up a shot from the top of the 18 yard box that was blocked out by a defender for a corner. At the same time, Duke substituted out freshman Libby Jandl and put in an extra attacker. This also allowed Rutgers to open up the field and attack more effectively than they had previously.

The Scarlet Knights bench was assessed a yellow card at the 64 minute mark. As the game wore on the Blue Devils pushed more and more players forward in an attempt to find an equalizer.

Due to this, Rutgers got another goal with 15 minutes to go in the match as April Price slotted in a shot from 12 yards out after receiving a long service from Karia Schacher to go up 2-0.

Duke continued to push forward in the waning minutes of the match. Alukonis, Bradley, and Carey Goodman all had shots that were smothered by the Rutgers defense and goalie. The Scarlet Knights' bend-but-do-not-break approach was enough to keep the Blue Devils' offense off the scoreboard.
For the match, the Blue Devils held a 15-9 shot advantage. In goal for Duke, Campbell finished with two saves to give her 94 for the season, which is a new single-season Blue Devil record.

Redmond, a senior from Morristown, N.J., did not play the entire second half with a hip injury.

Duke lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1997, breaking a seven-game winning streak in the NCAA Tournament first round. Three Blue Devils played their final match in a Duke uniform on Friday as Redmond, Gummersall and Alukonis will all graduate in May.