Kaitlyn Kerr likes to have fun.
“I want to have fun,” Kerr said. “And that means winning to me.”
She has had more fun than ever this year, as the Blue Devils have had one of their best seasons in history. They set a school record for wins with 18, won the ACC regular season title and are a one-seed in the NCAA tournament. They play Georgia at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Koskinen Stadium for a place in the round of sixteen.
But it has not been all fun for the sophomore, who struggled her rookie year, which was sandwiched between menisc us surgery prior to the season and microfracture surgery after it. Now, Kerr wears a knee brace whenever she plays.
“We’ve had people play with this brace, and nobody has ever been able to perform with that brace,” head coach Robbie Church said. “Kaitlyn just straps it on and goes to work. She doesn’t let that slow her down... she doesn’t use her knee as any excuse for anything. She’s a no-excuse person.”
According to Church, Kerr was recruited for her hard work and competitiveness, traits that she prides herself on. Because of that, she has had a challenge balancing this drive and resting her knee.
“I always want to go 1,000 percent every game, every practice, but I realize that hurts my knee,” Kerr said. “Hard work is my number one thing and I like to be known for that.”
In addition to soccer, she played ice hockey, basketball and softball growing up. In the end she chose soccer, though, citing her 5-foot-5 height as a reason. But despite her short stature and the reduced athleticism due to her knee problems, she has scored a few headed goals this season.
“Her timing is excellent,” Church said. “She just attacks it with vengeance.”
Kerr is an attacking midfielder with eight goals for the season, five of these being game-winners. These goals and her five assists have led to a place on the All-ACC first team, an honor Church finds very deserving.
Despite her many goals, and the coaching staff trying to put her in better scoring positions, Kerr prefers assisting her teammates with goals of their own.
“I’m not a really big fan on goals,” Kerr said. “I like getting the assist more …. So I would like to have more assists as well.”
Due to injuries limiting her play and training, however, Kerr has not developed as much as she would have liked in her time at Duke. Prior to this season, she had not trained with the team since last November.
“I’m not where I want to be,” she said. “But with the circumstances that I’m under I think it’s going pretty well.”
Coming off a weekend when the Blue Devils demolished Radford 5-0, with Kerr netting two goals, confidence is sky-high for Duke. According to Kerr the team spirit is as strong as ever, and Duke is one of the most balanced teams in the nation.
“There’s not one superstar on this team, and I think that’s what differentiates us,” Kerr said. “The rest of the teams have these two players we have to mark. But our team—everyone’s in it together. Everyone has their mind set to win this national championship.”
This weekend the Blue Devils come up against the Bulldogs, a team they only edged 1-0 early last season.
Kerr knows there is a long way to go, but that this team has the talent to make it all the way.
“I think everything we have and need is in front of us,” Kerr said. “We just have to go out and take it.”
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