New formation with 3 defenders creates more scoring opportunities for Duke women's soccer

Last year, Duke head coach Robbie Church said his best teams have had 17 or 18 players capable of contributing.

Coming off a national title game appearance, the Blue Devils have that depth but must now find the best structure for their talent to mesh.

So far this year, Duke has been utilizing variations of a 3-5-2 formation with three defenders. The Blue Devils were shut out seven times in 2015 and still advanced to the national championship game thanks to a stingy defense. With almost its entire starting lineup returning and a third straight top-six recruiting class, Duke hopes to create more scoring chances by getting the ball to its outside midfielders.

The Blue Devils showed how the formation works at its best Sunday with its first goal against Coastal Carolina. Senior defender Lizzy Raben sent a ball over the top of the Chanticleer defense along the left sideline, where Christina Gibbons—one of the keys to the formation as a defensive-minded midfielder—then sent a cross to a crashing Imani Dorsey in the penalty box for the goal.

“We’ve been able to get players like Taylor [Racioppi], Mia [Gyau] out wide and higher up the field, to be able to get more people up into the box for the attack,” senior forward Toni Payne said. “It’s worked very well for us.”

Gibbons is naturally a defender, but with Raben, Rebecca Quinn and Schuyler DeBree all seasoned on the back line, Church used Gibbons further up and the first-team All-ACC performer finished her first match of the year in the midfield with two assists. Last season, Duke normally played with four defenders, allowing just three goals in six NCAA tournament games.

This year, the Blue Devils will usually have three defenders—even if that’s not how the formation appears on the scorecard. Although Duke technically played a 5-3-2 on the scorecard Sunday against Coastal Carolina, its formation looked exactly the same as it did with the 3-5-2.

Gibbons, Racioppi, Gyau and Morgan Reid are all capable of playing the wingback position, carrying out defensive responsibilities then going forward to create chances for players like Dorsey, Payne and sophomore Kayla McCoy when they see openings. That means that regardless of whether they’re classified as defenders or midfielders, the Blue Devils will likely have the same mindset. 

“Even though I’m out wide and technically in the back line, I have this ability to release,” Racioppi, who also played forward against the Chanticleers, said. “I know the rest of the defenders are shifting over, and I can get all the way up into the other team’s back line.”

Against Coastal Carolina, when Duke had possession on the Chanticleers’ side of the field—as was the case for most of the game—Gibbons and Gyau would go up to support, with the two trying to serve balls from the wing into the box.

When the Blue Devils have the ball, their three defenders spread out in front of goalkeeper E.J. Proctor, with defensive midfielders like freshman Olivia Erlbeck providing support.

Duke’s new attacking strategy does come with some risk. Against Arkansas last Friday, the Blue Devils were caught napping on defense, allowing the Razorbacks to extend an early 1-0 lead to score a shocking 2-1 upset at home.

“If we turn the ball over in the wrong part of the field, then people are going to get in,” Church said. “That second goal at Arkansas, we took a big shape, and we turned the ball over, they played a girl through, and then she’s in and she buried it. We understand those are going to happen because of how we play offensively.”

As teams start adjusting to Duke’s sideline-focused attack, the Blue Devils will also have to be ready to counter, but they should have the personnel to do so in 2016.

Racioppi, Dorsey and junior Ashton Miller have played forward and midfielder, and Reid, Gibbons and Gyau have all logged minutes as defenders and midfielders. The result is that opponents will not easily be able to predict where players will be on the field either before or during a matchup.

For its new formation to pay off, Duke will have to convert its scoring chances into goals, something it did extremely well in its first two games but struggled with in its next two. On Sunday, the Blue Devils took 39 shots, but only two found the back of the net.

As its players continue adjusting to the more fluid offense, one of the nation’s best back lines could soon link up with an even more dangerous counter-attacking unit. 

“It’s a change, but a good one,” Racioppi said of moving from center midfield to wingback at times this year. “As for not being in the midfield, we’ve got some stellar players there, so we’re not missing anything.”

Amrith Ramkumar contributed reporting.