In the winter of 2005, the immediate future of Duke women's soccer looked extremely bright.
Despite the No. 10 Blue Devils' loss in the second round of the NCAA Tournament months before, the team ended with a 14-6-1 record and spent the entire season ranked in the nation's top ten. Eight players graduated after that stunning loss to Yale, but head coach Robbie Church's team welcomed eight starters in addition to an impressive recruiting class.
The 2006 season, though, left a bad taste in the mouths of Church and his players. The team struggled to score goals late in the year, failed to string together more than three consecutive wins all season and finished tied for a disappointing sixth place in the ultra-competitive ACC. The Blue Devils closed the season 9-8-1 (5-4-1 in the ACC), a far cry from the previous season.
"We have always had potential on this team, and sometimes we have come up short from that," senior goalie Allison Lipsher said. "I think we are feeling that a little bit, but we have some pretty high expectations for this season. And, of course I have a little bit more of a sense of urgency."
The 2007 campaign will present Church and company with a new challenge: translating youth into success. In the past, the team thrived on experience, senior leadership and chemistry developed over time. With the graduation of four key senior starters, Duke will rely on promising sophomores KayAnne Gummersall and Elisabeth Redmond to pump in goals. Gummersall and Redmond paced the Blue Devils in scoring as freshmen-Gummersall posted seven goals and two assists while Redmond amassed two goals and seven assists.
"I think we have to do a lot more teaching than we have the last couple of years," Church said. "We have graduated 17 players in the last two seasons, and so with only two seniors this year, we have had to slow some things down and do more building. I have been extremely happy about the coachability of this team, though, and I think they have done a great job of listening and carrying out our concepts offensively and defensively."
Lorraine Quinn joins Lipsher as the only senior on the team. Quinn, a scrappy midfielder, scored a goal and compiled four assists last season, but her true effectiveness did not necessarily translate to the statistics page.
The Blue Devils will receive few respites in their schedule this year. Their non-conference slate includes a matchup with No. 5 Texas A&M and a season-opening tournament in San Diego against San Diego and Pepperdine. The toughest stretch of the season, though, is the ACC schedule. The conference has five preseason ranked teams, a group that does not include Duke. Once again, North Carolina opens the season atop the polls, and the Blue Devils will also take on No. 4 Florida State. To make it more challenging, Duke hosts just two of its ranked foes.
"One of the things we always try to do here is develop our players, and we're firm believers that we can do that by playing a tough and national competition," Church said. "That is why we are going out and playing Pepperdine and San Diego, two teams out of one of the best conferences in the country, right away."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.