Coming off one of their best defensive performances of the year in an ACC tournament loss to then-No. 3 North Carolina, the Blue Devils will look to pick up where they left off and get back to the Final Four.
Duke will open the NCAA tournament facing Loyola in a first-round contest featuring two top-five goalkeepers Friday at 5 p.m. at Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill. After losing to the Tar Heels by eight goals in the regular season, the Blue Devils held a 6-4 lead against North Carolina less than a week later in Blacksburg, Va., before eventually falling 7-6 in the conference tournament semifinals.
Following final exam week and a second week off between games, Duke's seniors are hoping to show their younger teammates the effort that got the team to the Final Four a season ago.
"We can beat anyone in this tournament, and that's just something everyone needs to believe in," senior attack Kelci Smesko told GoDuke.com. "Coming from the Final Four last year, we're trying to gear up in the same way."
Smesko, who is second on the team in points with 36 goals and 16 assists this year, and second-team All-ACC attack Kyra Harney lead a Blue Devil offense that averages 10.7 goals per game but will have to adapt against a Greyhound defense known for switching its strategies. As is the case for Duke (10-8), Loyola's anchor is its goalkeeper, Molly Wolf, who ranks fourth nationally with a 52.9 save percentage. Wolf's percentage puts her one spot behind Blue Devil senior Kelsey Duryea, who carries a 53.4 save percentage into her final NCAA tournament.
But to take the pressure off Duryea and a veteran group of defenders, Duke will need to come out sharp offensively—the Blue Devils have failed to register double-digit goals in their last four contests.
"She's a great goalkeeper," Duke head coach Kerstin Kimel said. "We're going to have to work really hard at focusing on our shots, that's what we've done this week, try to put them where she won't be. It's going to be an interesting defensive battle."
To get its offense going against Loyola (14-5)—which started the season 1-4 before winning the Patriot League title—Duke will look to get contributions from midfielders Maddie Crutchfield and Maddy Acton, who both scored more than 25 goals this year.
The Blue Devils' faceoff specialist, freshman Olivia Jenner, also showed she can be a threat offensively in Duke's last game. Jenner set a program single-season record for faceoffs won, poured in three goals to give the Blue Devils a spark and will look to back up her performance in her first career NCAA tournament game.
Although Duke enters the NCAA tournament having lost four of its last six games, the number of Blue Devil weapons and time to prepare for the Greyhound defense gives the team confidence.
"I think whatever they throw at us tomorrow we're ready for," Smesko said.
The similarities between Duke and Loyola go beyond the teams' strong play in net as both teams also have younger offensive units to complement veteran backlines.
When the Greyhounds have the ball, the Blue Devils will look to disrupt an offense that has averaged 13.6 goals per game in its last seven contests using their standard shell defense.
Loyola's offensive trio—Maddy Blakeman, Hannah Powers and Frankie Kamely— notched more than 30 goals in the regular season with faceoff specialist Sabrina Tabasso also clearing the 40-point threshold, thanks to 23 points and 19 assists.
But with the second-most prolific goalkeeper in program history minding the net, Duke hopes to enjoy the Big Dance with lacrosse as its top priority after exams. If the Blue Devils can get past the Greyhounds, they will take on the third-seeded Tar Heels for a third time since April 23 Sunday in the second round.
"We need to keep things light. The kids enjoy this time of the year. The only thing they do is eat, sleep and play lacrosse, which is pretty enjoyable having come off a tough academic semester," Kimel said. "The biggest thing is we want our younger kids to want to keep playing for our upperclassmen. That's a huge motivating factor for this group. You don't want to go home, you don't want to go home early."
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