Exactly one year ago, the Blue Devils traveled to Annapolis, Md., in a final tune-up game before diving right into the teeth of their schedule. A year later, it was nearly the same situation for Duke, with contests against two top-15 opponents on the horizon.
This time, the game was in Durham in February 80 degree heat, but the result was nearly identical in Duke head coach Kerstin Kimel’s return to face her former manager during her playing days at Maryland and current Navy head coach Cindy Timchal.
The No. 10 Blue Devils cruised by Navy 20-12 Sunday afternoon behind a balanced scoring attack featuring seven players who found the back of the net multiple times as they reached the 20-goal mark for the second straight contest. Senior attacker Hayley Shaffer led the charge with four goals, and Kyra Harney, Grace Fallon and Olivia Jenner chipped in with three tallies apiece, with Harney leading the squad with five total points. Despite Timchal trying to change her squad’s defense throughout the game, Duke was able to get nearly everything it wanted offensively.
“Whether they were in zone or man-to-man, I thought we generated some really good looks and our scoring was really spread out,” Kimel said. “Everybody was a threat today.”
After the two sides traded goals twice to open up the contest, the Blue Devils (3-0) broke the game open with four straight goals as they held the Midshipmen scoreless for 7:57. Duke buckled down defensively, forcing turnovers in its defensive half and making Navy’s attackers attempt low percentage shots that Blue Devil goalkeeper Jamie Lockwood found easily.
The sophomore registered a career-high nine saves in her third straight start since All-American goalkeeper Kelsey Duryea graduated last season after anchoring the back line for four straight seasons.
“As a defensive unit, we got together and looked at each other and we said, ‘This is what we need from everyone,’” Lockwood said. “We figured out who their bigger scorers were, who had the best matchups and we pulled together and really talked to each other.”
Although Duke limited Midshipmen opportunities for the most part, Navy (1-1) still went on a couple of runs to make the game closer in the second half, then scored two goals late in the contest to draw the final deficit to eight. The Blue Devils struggled with fouls inside the scoring area, as Navy took advantage of 42 Duke fouls and 19 turnovers to convert six free-position goals—including four from leading scorer Jenna Collins.
The shot clock changes played a part in the turnovers, as the Blue Devils fell victim to a shot clock violation and rushed clearing attempts—they failed to clear the ball five separate times. Coupled with the continued absence of mainstay defender Isabelle Montagne as she continues to recover from a lower-body injury, Duke struggled at times getting the ball out of its own zone.
But offensively, the Blue Devils were able to cover up for their defensive errors. When Navy settled into a zone, Duke whipped the ball around the field and utilized Shaffer in the middle to generate easy shot opportunities on goal. In turn, Midshipmen goalkeeper Ingrid Boyum struggled mightily, surrendering 15 goals on 17 shots.
“I feel comfortable in the middle of the zone [defense], we were fortunate enough to move the ball quickly and I was open on some of those [opportunities],” Shaffer said.
After a largely disappointing performance in their season-opening 9-7 win against Drexel, the Blue Devils have seemed to have hit their stride offensively, showcasing a much more balanced attack than last season. With more depth, Kimel has been able to always keep fresh legs on the offensive side of the field, which showed with both teams battling the unexpected February heat wave.
With an important contest against No. 12 Stanford next Saturday in Frisco, Texas, coming up, Duke will look to showcase its offensive firepower for its third straight contest before kicking off conference play.
“Especially with the shot clock, teams are going to throw different things at us,” Shaffer said. “Being able to read [opposing defenses] and react and relying on the talent and connections going forward is going to be really big for us.”
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