Because you can't, you won't, and you don't stop!
As the field hockey team prepared for its battle with Richmond on Sunday afternoon, the loud speakers at the East Campus Turf Field conveyed that message to the Blue Devils. After losing to No. 3 Northeastern on Saturday, Duke took the lyrics to heart and defeated the unranked Spiders 6-2.
Sunday's game featured a rejuvenated and confident Duke squad. The Blue Devils were an entirely different team, compared to the squad that took the field the day before.
"We weren't sharp," Duke coach Liz Tchou said of the Blue Devils performance against Northeastern. "We were not mentally ready to start the game."
The final score reflected Duke's lack of preparation. Northeastern was ahead 5-0 at the half and ended up defeating the Blue Devils 7-1. Junior forward Melissa Panasci scored off an offensive corner with 4:56 left to play in regulation for Duke's only goal. She was assisted by Jodie Taylor on the goal, which kept Duke from being shut out.
"We didn't play like a team [against Northeastern]," Panasci said.
Duke was able to get its act together 24 hours later when it faced Richmond. The Blue Devils' offense dominated the entire game, and the defense rarely allowed the Spiders to penetrate deep into Blue Devil territory.
According to Tchou, Richmond is a young and unpredictable team, which gets fired up easily. Her game plan was for Duke to play keep away from the Spiders-controlling possession of the ball and worrying about its own playing. Tchou said she knew the Blue Devils were going to come out hard versus Richmond.
And come out hard Duke did. Duke's attack was overwhelming with 56 shots on goal and 17 penalty corners. Meanwhile, Richmond managed only three shots on goal and three corners.
The Blue Devils got off to an early lead when Melissa Panasci, assisted by Alison DeLeo and Mandy Schott, scored a goal with just over 31 minutes left in the first half. Panasci would add another goal before the end of the stanza.
Duke came out hard in the second half and went on a scoring rampage. Junior forward Grace Barada scored off a cross from Mandy Schott and Emily Ford to make the score 3-0. Following the goal, the Blue Devils had a momentary lapse in defense, allowing Richmond co-captain, Leah Halfon, to score off a corner.
But Duke quickly rallied back when sophomore Emily Ford took the ball straight down the right side of the field and put the ball past Richmond goalie Carol Knerr in a one-on-one situation. Duke senior Jodie Taylor added another goal when she scored off a corner to make the score 5-1 in favor of the Blue Devils.
In one of the rare instances when Richmond got the ball past the 25-yard line in the second half, Kristy Yornhall scored off an intricately set up corner to make the score 5-2 with 10:55 left to go in the second half. Play was centered in the middle of the field for most of the remainder of the game.
The Blue Devils got their final goal of the game when Melissa Panasci drove the ball down the field and passed the ball to freshman Corey Ceccolini, who launched a perfect reverse scoop past Richmond goalie Kim DePoto.
"We played with communication and support," Panasci said.
After losing to Northeastern 7-1, Coach Tchou told the Blue Devils that each one of them has untapped potential which must come out. She told them to play proactively, rather than reactively. This sage advice allowed Duke to forget about its previous loss and finish the weekend with a win.
The Blue Devils next face intra-conference rival Virginia on Oct. 5.
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