Collegiate Times

Tech's Emily Jukich and Duke's Shelia Kramer battle for possesion during the Hokies' upset win over the No. 11 Blue Devils on Sunday afternoon.

Tech never beat Duke in their four previous tries. Tech improved to 4-4-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference and 10-7-2 overall. The Blue Devils fell to 12-4-3 overall, 4-3-3 in conference play. With 16:58 left to go in the first half, senior Laurie Beth Puglisi headed a ball into the net past Duke senior goalkeeper Cassidy Powers to give the Hokies the first lead. Junior Robin Chidester assisted the goal. It was the second assist on the season for Chidester and the fifth goal for Puglisi.

With just under 10 minutes left to play in the first period, the Hokies came within inches of taking a two-goal lead when sophomore Jennifer Harvey headed the ball off the left post off a throw-in from Junior Julian Johnson.

At the half, the Hokies had seven shots. The Blue Devils had just two. Redshirt senior Ashley Owens had one save for Tech, compared to two for Powers. Tech had four corner kicks, while Duke compiled two. Owens got the start and played the entire game in goal for Tech, recording the shutout. Neither goalkeeper needed to make a save in the second period of play. At the end of the game, the Hokies tallied 11 shots in the game, compared to just six shots by the Blue Devils. Tech committed 14 fouls in the game and Duke committed seven.

It was the third time the Hokies defeated a ranked opponent this season. Other wins include a 3-0 win over Cal State-Fullerton and a 1-0 win over Virginia. The win improves Tech's resume for a possible NCAA Tournament bid. Tech's next match will be in the ACC Tournament against the Florida State Seminoles. They will try to get revenge from their 3-1 loss in Tallahassee, Fla. on Sept. 28. Tech is the No. 7 seed and will travel to Cary, N.C. this Wednesday, for the ACC Tournament.

--by Justin Long

MEN THIRD, WOMEN SEVENTH AT CROSS COUNTRY'S ACC EVENT

The Tech men's cross country team made history this weekend, placing third at the ACC Championships in Chapel Hill, N.C. - its highest finish since joining the conference.

The women's squad came home in seventh place. Leading the way for the men was junior Devin Cornwall, who finished in third place in the 8,000-meter event. Cornwall crossed the line with a time of 24:30.8. Senior Billy Berlin was the next highest-placing Hokie in 11th, while freshman Michael Hammond came in 15th. Overall, in the men's event, Tech wound up behind winner Virginia and second-place North Carolina State.

For the women's side, Tasmin Fanning was the top Tech runner. The 2007 All-American placed second among 107. Fanning came within 50 meters of winning the 6,000-meter race before Florida State's Susan Kuijken edged her out by less than a tenth of a second. Fanning recorded a time of 20:11.6.

Other Hokies behind Fanning included senior Erin Reddan in 21st, Jessica Fanning in 34th and junior Natalie Kretzer in 41st. Florida State captured the women's event overall easily beating Boston College. Wake Forest was third, while Duke and Virginia tied for the fourth position.

Both the men and women will be major players in the Hokie Open, which will take place at the Tech Cross Country Course. The event, held on Nov. 8, comes one week prior to the NCAA Southeast Regional meet in Winston-Salem, N.C.

--by Brian Wright

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