The Blue Devils’ laundry list of accomplishments this season is impressive. They won the ACC regular season. At No. 3, they are ranked as high as any team in program history. They have tied a school record with 17 wins, and they own the single-season shutout record at Duke.
But perhaps the most mind-blowing number for the team this season is seven—that is, the number of goals they have conceded in 20 games thus far. This total, a miniscule average of 0.35 per game, is five goals fewer than those allowed by the next-best defenses in the conference, Wake Forest and Boston College, who have both played fewer games.
“Seven goals... it’s incredible,” head coach Robbie Church said. “I didn’t think we were going to give up many goals, but I had no idea it would be something like this.”
It has been a long journey for this year’s group of defenders. They were forced into starting roles as raw freshmen, have matured during years of play together, and how and now they are one win away from Duke’s first-ever ACC tournament final appearance. But first, the Blue Devils (17-2-1, 8-1-1 in the ACC) have a semifinal date with No. 9 Wake Forest (13-3-3, 5-2-3), the fifth-seeded team in the tournament, tonight at the WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary at 5:30 p.m.
“We’ve put ourselves in such great position, so we can’t take this for granted,” defender Erin Koballa said. “We’ve got to capture the moment. It’s when winning actually counts.”
The back four will be the key to victory in the postseason, but the defenders have not always been the team’s centerpiece. In 2009, due to injuries and graduations, current juniors Koballa, Maddy Haller and Libby Jandl were thrust into the lineup before they were fully adjusted to the college game. They struggled initially, but that experience has proved invaluable to them and their team.
“You could tell that this was going to be tough at the time, but that it was going to be a good learning experience and it was going to pay dividends,” Church said. “But I didn’t think it’d pay this big of a dividend down the road.”
The extra experience is particularly critical because defending at the college level requires cooperative effort from the back line.
“A lot of the defense in college isn’t beating your man or one-on-one defending,” Haller said. “It’s knowing where to be positionally. So I think that’s a big deal, knowing each other and knowing how each other plays. It’s something we’ve built off of the past few years.”
Sophomore Natasha Anasi described Haller as the unit’s toughest player and Koballa as the most complete player and the best tackler. Jandl’s primary strength is stepping up and stopping opponents from creating chances, and Anasi describes herself as the one who “cleans up play.”
“Our backline has different characteristics of each person that stand out,” Anasi said. “And I think we use those abilities and it ends up meshing well.”
The Blue Devils are strong off the bench as well—Alex Straton does not start but is the unit’s fastest player. The sophomore gives credit for her development to the strong corps of juniors leading the way.
“We have a system of mentoring now,” Straton said. “I have a lot of older players to look to. They understand I always like to go forward, and obviously I’ve had so much to learn from them and from the coaches.”
The defense’s reliable play has taken much of the pressure off star junior goalkeeper Tara Campbell, who has done more than her share in the Blue Devils’ unprecedented scoring prevention.
“I’d prefer not to even touch the ball in games if I can,” Campbell said. “If they do their job, it makes my job easier…. I’d prefer that they do all the work.”
Campbell is another piece that fits into the well-oiled defensive machine. Her strong kicking game allows the defenders to be very comfortable with her behind them.
“I think a huge part of Tara’s game is with her feet…. Tara’s a field player almost,” Haller said. “She’s someone I can pass back to and I know she’s going handle the ball well. I don’t know if you’re going to have that with every keeper in this league.”
Campbell’s abilities are so sound that she might even make her backs a little too comfortable.
“I’m probably too confident in Tara,” Koballa said. “If someone gets by I’ll think, ‘It’s okay, Tara will save it.’ It’s nice having confidence in someone behind. You know if you make a mistake it’s okay.”
It is that level of camaraderie, forged over the past few years, that constitutes another vital advantage for the Blue Devils.
“What’s awesome about us as a unit is that we’re all great friends,” Jandl said. “You know that everyone’s got each other’s backs, and you’re going to play hard for the person next to you.”
Against Wake Forest, a team Church described as well-coached and experienced, Duke will need its defense to keep up the good work.
It is the first time since 2005 that Duke has made it through to the semifinals of the conference tournament, and it will be the favorite to reach the championship game, having beaten the Demon Deacons 2-0 on Oct. 20.
“I think what’s so great about our team now is that we’re not satisfied,” Haller said. “I think everyone feels that we want to do more, we want to do better, we want to go further.”
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