Mother Nature gave it her best shot, but three games into the season, it would seem as though there’s no cooling down the Blue Devils.
Frigid conditions made for a tightly fought defensive battle between No. 8 Duke and Navy, but the Blue Devils heated up in the second half to sail away from the Midshipmen 10-3 Sunday at Koskinen Stadium.
At home for the second straight game, Duke showcased its talents on both offense and defense as it withstood its greatest test yet this season. Freshman Kyra Harney notched the first hat trick of her career and junior goalkeeper Kelsey Duryea posted seven first-half saves to power the Blue Devils to their third win of the season.
“This is exactly the game that we were hoping to get," head coach Kerstin Kimel said. “[It was] a tough game. It challenged us both physically and mentally throughout. It’s a great for us to get a win like this so early in the season. To have to grind out a game like this in February is a good test and gives us confidence moving forward.”
Navy (2-1) seized control in the early going, aided by 22-degree temperatures and blustery winds that slowed down Duke’s transition offense. The Midshipmen’s defensive line—which entered Sunday’s contest boasting the fewest allowed goals per game in the nation—pursued Blue Devil ball carriers along the shooting arc, preventing Duke from setting up any offensive scheme and forcing turnovers.
Navy, however, struggled to convert the host squad's 10 first-half turnovers into points—only mustering one goal in the first 30 minutes of play—as the Blue Devils countered with a noteworthy defensive effort of their own.
Duke’s defensive line cleared the ball an impressive 17 times on 19 attempts and Duryea successfully defended four free-shots to hold off the attacking Midshipmen. Working in tandem, Duryea and the Blue Devil defenders rendered the Navy offense dead in the water, giving their team the necessary momentum to mount a counterattack.
“Our defensive unit had to play together,” Duryea said, ”Especially because our offense was still getting warmed up. We knew our scouting report. We knew that every ground ball was ours [to fight for]. We just did our best to give the attack as much momentum as possible.”
Leading just 2-1 at the halfway mark, Duke opened the second period of play with goals by senior Taylor Trimble and junior Maddy Acton, before the Midshipmen cut the lead to two with 22:00 remaining.
But Navy would never draw closer than that.
The Blue Devils answered Navy’s score with a resounding 5-0 spurt—featuring two goals off the stick of Harney. The Bay Shore, N.Y., native registered her first score of the night on a free-shot against the Midshipmen’s talented senior goalie, Annie Foky. The freshman would earn her second goal of the night against Foky in the 44th minute of play off an assist by senior Kerrin Mauer.
Following a Navy score, Harney would complete the hat trick on an unassisted drive to the net with less than a minute remaining in regulation time to lead Duke to its 10-3 victory.
“Its really exciting,” Harney said of notching her hat trick. “As a freshman, it's awesome. Navy came out really tough and that’s what we anticipated them to do, but the second half we really turned it up a notch. We focused on cleaning up our game...and when the goals started coming, we got a lot of momentum.”
The Blue Devil’s win Sunday against the Midshipmen came packaged with its fair share of officiating drama. Midway through the second-half, a Duke attacker drove to the net and scored. The shot was whistled a goal—only to be waived off midway through the Blue Devil post-goal celebration.
A frustrated and confused Kimel rushed the field to protest, almost making it as far as the scoring arc before being taken aside by a referee. Navy’s head coach, Cindy Timchal, then left her sideline to protest Kimel’s actions and the officiating staff attempted to restore order on the field.
Eventually, Kimel—and everyone else in the stadium—got the explanation they were looking for.
As per a rule change that went into effect this season, a player must drop their stick after scoring a goal so that an official can identify it. This is done to allow the opposing coach the opportunity to call a stick check—a request to determine if the stick used to make the goal is legal or illegal.
The officiator who made the call explained that multiple Duke players had been dropping their sticks after a goal, making it impossible for the officiator to know which stick was used to make the goal. Having already been issued a warning for the behavior, the goal was disallowed after the officiator in question saw multiple Blue Devils dropping their sticks afterwards.
“It was a great goal and I think our players were caught up in the celebration,” Kimel said. “I was unaware that it was a new rule and I am going to still need some good clarification on [the decision]. Of course, when something like that happens you just have to switch gears and say ‘Let's go.’ I think our kids did a good job of that and I don’t that they let it get to them too much."
Having prevailed through cold weather, finicky rule changes and a tough Navy team Sunday, Duke can look forward to a few days of rest before traveling to Northbrook, Ill., to take on Northwestern Feb. 19.
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