Just days removed from a nine-goal outing, No. 18 Duke (4-1-0) lit up the scoreboard again against overmatched High Point (1-4-0) at Koskinen Stadium Sunday. The Blue Devils pitched their third shutout of the season and five different Duke players found the back of the net to blank the Panthers 5-0.
The Blue Devils wasted no time in establishing their dominance, and hoarded possession from the opening kick. Just four minutes in, freshman center back Natasha Anasi scored the first goal of her career and gave Duke a lead it would never relinquish. A Gilda Doria corner was pushed out of the box by High Point keeper Andrea Ritchie, but senior Molly Lester quickly fed the ball back to Anasi, who deflected it into an open net.
The Blue Devils struck again in the 20th minute, when a solid string of passing was capped by Laura Weinberg’s third goal of the year. Striker Molly Pathman’s through ball found Weinberg in space, and the freshman coolly finished around an outstretched goalkeeper to double the Duke advantage.
An easy Gretchen Miller tap-in with under two minutes left in the first half cemented the win for the Blue Devils, though Duke likely should have made more of its 30-4 shot differential. Despite a shaky High Point defense, the Blue Devil offense looked stagnant at times, something that head coach Robbie Church acknowledged.
“We played in spurts in the first half,” Church said. “In the second half I thought we picked it up. There was a little bit more intensity.”
Buoyed by Church’s halftime direction, Duke came out firing in the second period. Pathman and Lester came close within seconds of each other, and senior Carey Goodman blasted a ball over the crossbar after shaking her defender in the box. Freshmen Kaitlyn Kerr and Kim DeCesare each scored to close out the victory.
Duke’s performance was far from perfect however, and a lapse in defensive concentration nearly gave the Panthers a shocking goal in the second half. High Point forward Sammy Vercellino’s shot in the 60th minute caught the Blue Devils out of position and goalie Tara Campbell flat-footed, but the ball rolled just wide of the post.
While the error went unpunished, it should give Church plenty to focus on in the coming week of training. With perennial winners Florida International and Yale on the horizon, Duke won’t have time to rest on its laurels.
“We didn’t just want to win [based on our personnel], we wanted to play good soccer. We’re getting close to ACC play, and we’re looking for that competition.”
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