For a struggling team playing against yet another ranked squad, the end result can go one of two ways. The contest can either boost a squad’s confidence, leading to season-ending run, or it can make the losing even more contagious.
The Blue Devils definitely need it to be the latter outcome.
After losing four of its last five matchups, Duke will hit the road as an unranked team for the first time in six years to take on No. 20 Virginia Saturday at 1 p.m. at Klöckner Stadium in Charlottesville, Va. The Blue Devils are still searching for their first conference victory and are in danger of finishing below .500 on the season with only one remaining game against an unranked foe if they cannot figure out ways to score.
Duke should have an easier time getting its offense back on track against a Cavalier defense that ranks in the bottom half of the nation in scoring defense, but the Blue Devils still need their role players to step up.
“We haven’t played well, and it’s a confluence of different things,” Duke head coach Kerstin Kimel said. “We probably needed to overhaul some things, which we have done heading into this weekend.”
After her team’s disheartening 16-6 loss to then-No. 13 Pennsylvania Saturday, Kimel alluded to the idea of changing up her schemes after struggling once again against a zone defense. The Blue Devils are averaging 19 turnovers per game, and despite it being a major point of emphasis in practice, they keep coughing the ball up, putting more pressure on a strained Duke backline.
It does not help that the Blue Devil (5-4, 0-3 in the ACC) goalkeepers have not been able to bail out a fledgling offense either.
The two netminders—starter Jamie Lockwood and freshman Gabbe Cadoux—have combined for a total of nine saves in their past two contests after Lockwood started the season off with a bang. Although Kimel’s leash may adjust based on the flow of the game, she needs one of them to lean on as Duke continues to try to play through its offensive struggles.
Regardless of whom Kimel selects to start between the pipes, Virginia’s potent offense will not make it any easier on the defense, as Virginia (4-4, 1-2) ranks 36th in the nation with 12.6 goals per game. The Cavaliers boast one of the most balanced attacks in the nation, as they have eight different players that have scored at least seven goals this season, and the Blue Devils know they have not been playing their best defense recently.
“We have to commit to playing better individual defense in order for our unit to play better. That was part of the problem at Penn,” Kimel said. “We had a couple too many people not have a great day on the defensive end, which led to us giving up 16 goals, which is very unlike us.”
There have been some positive signs amid Duke’s skid, namely the plays of senior captain Hayley Shaffer and freshman midfielder Catherine Cordrey on offense to supplement the talented All-American duo of midfielder Maddie Crutchfield and attack Kyra Harney to balance out the offense. Before the Blue Devils went cold, they jumped out to an early 4-2 lead and were showcasing the offensive balance that was evident at the beginning of the season.
Duke remains confident that it can turn its season around after having small, but promising, outbursts in recent games.
"Some of the greatest teams have had not so great seasons and come back and go all the way,” Shaffer said. “This year, especially with the new shot clock, people are [still] adjusting to the new environment of the game on the field.”
But with the season already past its midpoint as they head into the gauntlet of conference play, the Blue Devils know that they are approaching the make it or break it part of year.
“We believe that if we put all of the pieces together to play well and play our kind of game, then a win will come,” Kimel said. “When you’re not playing well, it is very easy to let your head go forward to the tough games we have coming up and really, for us to be at our best Saturday against Virginia, we just need to focus on getting to Saturday and trying to play our very best game.”
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