Come NCAA tournament time, Duke student-athletes live by a collective creed: survive and advance. This particular set of Blue Devils has been repeating the line since September, when a rocky start to the schedule combined with the losses of key players to injury left even head coach Robbie Church questioning whether his team would advance to postseason play.
“We were a bit of a mess in August, losing players, and we hit a tough stretch of games in September,” Church said. “But once we started making some personnel changes, we really turned it around.”
Thanks to strong senior leadership, and outstanding play from five freshman starters, Duke (8-8-4) now has a fresh start in the NCAA tournament, and a first-round matchup with No. 12 Rutgers (13-3-4) Friday at 4:30 p.m. in Columbia, S.C.
After battling through the regular season gauntlet of powerful ACC squads, Duke will look to continue the recent success it has had in the NCAA tournament. The Blue Devils have been selected to play the last seven years, and have advanced to the elite eight the past two seasons.
To advance, Duke must find a way to break down a stalwart Scarlet Knight defense, which was one of the best in the Big East. Rutgers has only allowed 10 goals all year, and is ranked seventh nationally in goals-against-average with a 0.47 mark.
“If we come out slow, they’re going to place a lot of players behind the ball, and it’s going to be tough to score,” Church said.
The Blue Devils boast a solid back line as well, and allowed only nine goals in 10 ACC contests. While possibly overmatched in terms of defense, Duke has a definite advantage in attack over the Scarlet Knights. The Blue Devils have scored four more goals and have tallied 25 more assists than Rutgers this season.
Junior Ashley Jones poses the biggest threat to the young Duke defense. Jones leads the Scarlet Knights with eight goals in 15 games.
The Blue Devils are led offensively by senior captains KayAnne Gummersall and Elisabeth Redmond, who hold team-high totals in goals and assists with 11 and 12, respectively. Duke will look to put pressure on the Scarlet Knights from the opening whistle, and not allow the Rutgers offense time to execute. If the Blue Devil midfielders can beat their opponents in 50-50 situations and provide service to the attackers, Church expressed confidence that his players can finish in the final third, something they’ve been focused on all week.
In a win-or-go-home environment, the Blue Devils are determined to extend the season, and give their senior teammates one extra game.
“It’s so exciting, because you know you have to put everything out there. It could be your last game, nothing is guaranteed,” freshman midfielder Nicole Lipp said. “We just want to give the seniors one more game, and keep winning for them.”
With a victory on Friday, Duke would face the winner of No. 2 seed South Carolina and Davidson.
Given a fresh slate, a hungry Blue Devil team has all the tools necessary to make a run in the postseason.
“I’m excited to see what our team can do,” Church said. “We were a little nervous in the ACC tournament, but we’ve got some great leaders on the field, and I’m looking forward to seeing how we come together.”
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