After a close loss to No. 2 Stanford a few weeks ago, head coach Robbie Church emphasized that his team learned it could play with anyone in the country. With a dramatic draw against No. 5 Florida Friday, it’s apparent that Church’s young Blue Devil squad has great potential. But after barely scraping by unheralded Middle Tennessee State 1-0 Sunday in the finale of the Duke/Nike Classic, No. 15 Duke has plenty of work to do before beginning ACC play later this week.
“We’ve got to work,” Church said. “We’re not a finished product by any means, but we’re getting there.”
Against a talented Gators team, Duke (6-1-2) came out of the locker room red-hot, perhaps inspired by a national television audience. The Florida back line was routinely tested, and Gators goalkeeper Katie Fraine was forced to save a Laura Weinberg effort just minutes from the start. The chances came thick and fast for the Blue Devils, who dominated the early play. Senior Molly Lester was denied her fourth goal of the season in the eighth minute when her strike found the crossbar.
Later in the first half, Florida (6-1-1) center back Kathryn Williamson cleared a Weinberg effort off the goal line after the freshman had again broken the Gator defense. Though Duke looked closer to scoring, its chances ultimately went begging, and Florida escaped the first 45 minutes on level terms.
“We could have been up two at the half,” Church said. “The whole game changes when you get nothing [out of your chances].”
Florida regrouped at the break and gave the Blue Devils all they could handle. In the 51st minute, sophomore goalkeeper Tara Campbell made consecutive point-blank saves to preserve the tie after McKenzie Barney slipped past the Duke defense. The Gators kept up the pressure, though, and scored just a minute later. Taylor Travis’s shot hit the post, but the ball fell kindly to Barney, who finished past Campbell to give Florida the lead.
“They had a 12 or 14-minute spurt where we just couldn’t handle them,” Church said. “But then we started to slow the game down and find our feet.”
Senior Gretchen Miller thought she had tied the game in the 80th minute after she beat Fraine with a shot to the far post, but the goal was called back for offsides. Duke kept serving balls into the box, however, and was finally rewarded in the 89th minute.
Freshman Kaitlyn Kerr’s cross from the left flank sliced through the Gator penalty area, and Weinberg beat her defenders to the ball to finish from close range just 78 seconds from the final whistle.
“I was just able to see the seam between the two defenders. Kaitlyn held her composure and was able to find me through, and I was able to finish,” Weinberg said.
The Blue Devils dominated play in the two overtime periods—outshooting Florida 7-1—but couldn’t snatch the victory.
In the final game of the Duke/Nike Classic Sunday, Duke looked to carry momentum from its comeback against the Gators but may have underestimated the strength of Middle Tennessee (3-6-0). The Blue Devils barely escaped with a nervy 1-0 win against the Blue Raiders.
Duke looked aloof from the opening whistle and struggled to sustain possession and create any type of offensive rhythm. Though Middle Tennessee posed little threat to the Blue Devils’ goal, the Blue Raiders’ tenacity in their defensive half kept them in the game—and kept Duke’s attackers frustrated. Despite numerous chances on goal, the Blue Devils visibly lacked focus and wasted possession often, something Church bemoaned.
“We were embarrassing in the first half, but give the credit to Middle Tennessee, they worked their butts off,” he said.
With a drastically changed lineup to begin the second half, Duke looked sharper but still was unable to beat Blue Raider goalkeeper Rebecca Cushing, who had a brilliant showing Sunday. In the 53rd minute, a sublime cross from Kerr found substitute Avery Rape clear of the Middle Tennessee defense, but Rape’s half-volley from close range was blocked by a diving Cushing. Rape had a golden opportunity again in the 60th minute from a Marybeth Kreger cross, but the freshman’s header sailed above the crossbar.
The scoring drought was broken in the 70th minute when the Blue Devils caught the Blue Raider defense out of position. Freshman Mollie Pathman collected a ball from winger Gilda Doria and was able to dribble past two Middle Tennessee defenders before beating a charging Cushing, who was unable to clear the ball. With an easy left-footed finish, Pathman secured the win for the Blue Devils, who were happy with the result given their underwhelming performance.
With two ranked teams on the horizon in Wake Forest and Maryland, Duke now shifts its attention to a grueling ACC schedule. Church knows his team needs to regain its concentration if it hopes to compete.
“You’re only guaranteed 20 games a year…so you’ve got to be able to get up and play,” Church said. “The champion teams play every single day.”
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.