Washington and Louisville, Ky., may not be the hottest destinations for spring break, but with the Blue Devils off to their best start in nine years, a beach is the last thing on their minds.
No. 4 Duke will hit the road to play a non-conference game against Georgetown Wednesday at 3 p.m. and its third ACC matchup against No. 12 Louisville Saturday at noon. If the Blue Devils—who are netting 15.43 goals per contest—pull out two victories this week, they will match the program’s best start to a season since 2006.
“This week has been tough because of the bad weather and academically the kids had a lot of work to do with spring break coming up,” head coach Kerstin Kimel said after Duke’s victory against Virginia Tech Friday. “We haven’t had time to focus on ourselves so we’re looking forward to having a couple of days to start building different parts of our game before we leave.”
Duke (7-0, 2-0 in the ACC) had to put forth more effort than expected to beat the Hokies 15-10 at Koskinen Stadium. It was the first time a Blue Devil opponent scored in the double figures this season.
Although Duke took a 3-0 lead 5:50 after the opening faceoff, the Blue Devils and Hokies went to the locker room deadlocked at 6-6. Freshman attacker Kyra Harney—who has 14 goals and eight assists this year—and midfielder Maddie Crutchfield led Duke’s offense, combining for three goals and two assists.
“Halftime gave us the opportunity to collect ourselves,” Kimel said. “The seniors were a bit quiet until the second half so it’s not surprising that the freshmen stepped up [in the opening thirty minutes.] We needed them and they gave us really good momentum with a few goals.”
Kimel said that the team’s offense was sharper in the second half as her players created more opportunities by moving the ball with more precision.
Despite outscoring the Hokies 9-4 in the second half, the Blue Devils trailed their rival twice. Virginia Tech’s senior attacker Meg Bartley found the back of the net for the third time with 9:51 left before halftime, giving the Hokies a 4-5 lead. With 24:05 left in the game, Will scored her fourth goal to put Virginia Tech ahead again, 6-7.
However, a 4-0 run delivered in a 4:13 span in the second period was crucial to give the Blue Devils their seventh-straight victory. If the freshman Harney-Crutchfield duo stole the spotlight during the first 30 minutes, five Blue Devils seniors helped Duke close out the second period, totaling four goals and three assists.
“Virginia Tech was giving us a fight,” said senior attacker Kerrin Maurer, who delivered two goals and chipped in two assists against the Hokies. “We knew that we needed to keep pushing. In the second half, we had to work hard to prove that we were a better team.”
Strong play from Duke's seniors will again be key against both the Hoyas and Cardinals. Veterans Maurer and Katie Trees are Duke’s top scorers, totaling 16 goals apiece. Four more seniors—Chelsea Landon, Brigid Smith, Taylor Trimble and Erin Tenneson—have combined for 39 goals in seven games. Maurer also leads the Blue Devils in assists with 12 on the year.
Georgetown (1-3) and Louisville (5-0, 0-0) average 8.25 and 16.20 goals per game, respectively, meaning the ability of Duke's defense to create opportunities for its high-powered offense may be the determining factor in both games.
The Blue Devils are allowing just 6.29 goals in their seven games. Junior goalie Kelsey Duryea registered five saves against Virginia Tech and has totaled 46 saves this season.
Sophomore Colleen Lovett, junior Kristen Bandos and senior Caroline Tarzian lead the Hoyas in scoring with six goals each. Junior Kaylin Morissette is the Cardinals’ top scorer with 19, followed by sophomore Hannah Koloski, junior Cortnee Daley and senior Faye Brust with 17 apiece.
“We’ve only been on the road once this season,” Kimel said. “It’ll be fun to spend some time away from campus together so we’re excited about these two road trips.”
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