Although Duke is just one game into the season, the squad will already have to work through some early adversity.
The No. 6 Blue Devils will stay put in Durham, as they face off with Richmond at 4 p.m. Friday and then meet Navy at 1 p.m. Sunday afternoon. The matchups come around an emotional time for Duke, as the Athletics Department announced Thursday that head coach Kerstin Kimel is undergoing treatment for early-stage breast cancer.
"The young women in our program have handled this sensitive situation just as I had hoped—with class and integrity," Kimel said in the press release. "I am so appreciative and proud of each and every one of them. This group has worked incredibly hard this year, both on and off the field, in preparation to be the best team we can be, and compete for the ACC and NCAA Championships."
The Blue Devils will look to overcome this adversity by focusing in on two home matches ahead of it. Although they are just one win into the year, the upcoming series now presents itself as an opportunity for the women to build their confidence early in the season and regain their momentum in a fast one-day turnaround.
The Blue Devils hope that the weekend will go as smoothly as their season-opening victory at Elon. Duke—lead by used a 9-1 scoring run in the first half to put the game out of reach. The Blue Devil defense, which ranked 49th in the country last year, allowed only 16 shots and shut down Elon’s All-Atlantic Sun attacker Sloane Kessler.
But the Duke defense could be tested again against Richmond.
Last year, Richmond outscored its opponents by a combined 55 goals. The Spider offense guided them to a second-place finish in the Atlantic-10 and a spot in the A-10 Championship game.
Richmond brings back two 30-plus goal scorers—Emily Doyle and Charlotte Stevenson—in addition to four other players who contributed 15 or more goals a season ago.
Navy, on the other hand, is known for its stellar defensive line.
In 2014, the Midshipmen ranked third in the nation allowing 6.53 goals per game. They were undefeated when they held opponents to eight goals or less and finished their season with only three defeats.
The return of the three of four starters from last year’s defensive line has thus far allowed that success to translate to this season. The Midshipmen surrendered just two goals on 11 shots in their season opening victory against Longwood.
But even with the stingy numbers Navy is putting up again, Duke has proven in the past that statistics are not predictions—even against the Midshipmen's lock-down defense.
In the second round of the 2013 NCAA tournament, the Blue Devils scored 10 goals on a Navy squad that surrendered 7.80 goals per game that season. In fact, Duke’s defense dominated holding the Midshipmen without a goal for more than 40 minutes.
If The Blue Devils want a repeat performance, they will need another solid effort from junior goalkeeper Kelsey Duryea. The Beverly, Mass., native finished last season allowing 9.89 goals per game and averaged 7.42 saves per game—good for second in the ACC
Although both games will be played at Koskinen Stadium, Duke’s physical and mental strength will be tried as it overcomes a short layover. Just last weekend, the men's team struggled against High Point in what was the Blue Devils' second game of a double-header. This weekend's contests will be the only two-game, three-day stretch Duke will face all season.
"We're looking forward to a Friday-Sunday series," Kimel said following Duke's win against Elon.
Regardless of the obstacles the squad encounters, the Blue Devils will rely on the experience of its 26 returning players and the leadership of the eight seniors to remain undefeated by the end of Sunday.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.