For a program that has reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament two out of the previous three years, 2009’s 8-9-4 record simply looks like it doesn’t belong. With an influx of elite young talent, however, and the progression of several key starters, No. 25 Duke (2-1-0) once again looks like it can challenge deep into November—especially after two quality wins to start the season.
Duke began the year with a 1-0 win at Georgia, then traveled to Chapel Hill and beat the reigning Big 12 champions Missouri 3-1. In Sunday’s matchup with 2009 national runner-up Stanford, Duke’s Laura Weinberg opened the scoring, but the Blue Devils eventually fell 2-1.
Despite the loss, Duke showed it belongs as one of the top teams in the nation.
“We have nine non-conference games before we go in and play the ACC, which is going to be so darn tough,” head coach Robbie Church said. “You have to get good victories early in the year to get your record rolling for NCAA selection time.”
In the preseason ACC coaches poll, the Blue Devils were voted No. 5 behind defending national champion and No. 1-ranked North Carolina, rising power Boston College, Florida State and Virginia. A record-tying eight teams from the ACC were invited to the NCAA tournament in 2009, a testament to the strength of the most competitive conference in the country, and that number isn’t likely to drop this year.
Though the Blue Devils came into the 2010 campaign with a bit of uncertainty on offense after the loss of unquestioned team leaders Elisabeth Redmond and KayAnne Gummersall, an attack-minded recruiting class has Duke arguably deeper up front than it was last year. Bolstered by the arrival of the Gatorade National High School Player of the Year Mollie Pathman and fellow freshman Laura Weinberg, along with the return of senior midfielder Molly Lester from injury and the position switch of Gretchen Miller, the Blue Devils have no shortage of firepower.
While goals last year came from two expected sources—Redmond and Gummersall—Church expects a more even scoring distribution this season.
“I think you’ll see a lot of people scoring goals for us,” Church said. “We may not have a Gummersall who will score 10 to 12 goals, but we have a lot of players who can score six to seven goals.”
On the defensive end, Duke is finally reaping benefits from starting four freshmen in the back for the majority of last year. Returning to the first 11 are fullbacks Erin Koballa and Maddy Haller, centerback Libby Jandl and goalkeeper Tara Campbell, who was named to the second team All-ACC as a freshman. Also back into the fray is redshirt sophomore centerback Ashley Rape, who missed the entirety of the 2009 campaign due to a torn left ACL.
While it may take time for the Blue Devils to mesh, Church now has over 20 players at his disposal, and will be able to make platoon substitutions in order to keep fresh legs on the field, a luxury he didn’t have in 2009.
“It takes time for players to get to know each other [on the field], and we have a lot of different types of players at different positions,” Church said. “That’s where we’re going to spend most of our time on [in training].”
During a seven-game homestand that kicks off Thursday, Duke hopes to set the tone for a resurgent season and rejoin the ranks of the nation’s elite. And with a host of beatable teams in sight, the Blue Devils will need all the wins they can get before the demanding ACC season begins Sept. 23.
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