Blue Devils head north for nonconference tests

After convincing 16-6 and 19-10 victories over Denver and No. 11 Vanderbilt last week, No. 5 Duke travels to Virginia to face Richmond Friday at 3 p.m. and No. 20 William & Mary Sunday at 1 p.m.  The Blue Devils (2-0) face the Spiders (0-1) and the Tribe (1-0) in a weekend series for the fourth year in a row and are aiming for their fourth consecutive sweep.

Duke will lean heavily on its formidable offensive players, led by senior captain and midfielder Lindsay Gilbride, a reigning third-team All-American and ACC Player of the Week.  Pacing the offense, Gilbride has scored five goals and dished out four assists through Duke’s first two games.

In addition to Gilbride’s offensive charge, juniors Virginia Crotty and Christie Kaestner both registered career-high performances in Duke’s 19-10 victory over Vanderbilt as Crotty netted four goals and Kaestner contributed five points.

Against William & Mary, however, the Blue Devils’ explosive offense will be tested by the presence of junior All-American Sarah Jonson.  Last year, the standout defender ranked sixth nationally with 2.29 forced turnovers per game and 33rd nationally with 2.65 ground balls per game.

On the defensive side of the ball, Duke will face difficult challenges from both Richmond’s and William & Mary’s offensive attacks. Despite its youth, Richmond has multiple weapons on the offensive side of the ball. In Richmond’s 17-7 loss to No. 2 Maryland last week, seven different Spiders, including five freshmen, found the back of the twine.  The Blue Devils also will have to keep a particularly close eye on sophomore Sam Tajirian, who was an Atlantic 10 All-Freshman selection last year.

On the other hand, William & Mary’s attacking unit has a bona fide All-American in junior Ashley Holofcener, who scored 34 goals and had 30 assists last season. In its victory against No. 16 Ohio State, the Tribe scored 15 goals, including four by senior Mary Zultry and three points by Holofcener.

While Duke cannot overlook its road trip through Virginia, it is easy to be distracted by the beginning of ACC play next Saturday. Still, the Blue Devils will be prepared for two more challenging early-season contests.