Regardless of past success, the first road game for a young team is a completely different animal. Especially when some key contributors will be playing in just their fourth collegiate game, and first ACC matchup.
No. 10 Duke will hit the road to play Virginia Tech Saturday afternoon at its Indoor Practice Facility looking to prove itself once again after enjoying some early-season success. Last season, the Blue Devils lost to the Hokies for the first time in 20 matchups, and they are looking to avenge that result behind a balanced squad that ranks in the top 25 in both scoring defense and offense.
“A big focus for us after starting 3-0 is remembering that it’s early on in the season and we still have a lot of work to do,” senior captain Grace Fallon said. “[We’ve been] preparing ourselves to face Virginia Tech, who’s a really good team, so we’re just really excited to get conference play started and give them what we’ve got.”
Last season, Duke also got off to a strong start in nonconference play, winning its first four games. But as soon as ACC opponents came piling into Durham, disaster struck, as the Blue Devils finished at the bottom of the conference.
But a few players who were not on the field for those games may make the difference this time, such as freshman attack Charlotte North and sophomore goalkeeper Gabbe Cadoux—who made her first start at the end of March last spring. Both players won their respective ACC Player of the Week awards last week after strong performances against Campbell and then-No. 9 Northwestern.
What may be even more impressive is that North is playing in a different position on offense than she is used to. Playing behind the cage, North has capitalized on opportunistic cuts and creative shots to lead the team in scoring with 12 goals, good for eighth in the nation.
“What’s awesome about Charlotte is that she’s a freshman, but she plays like a complete veteran,” Fallon said. “It’s been really fun playing with her because I feel like us older guys have been almost able to delegate some responsibilities, and she’s handled it after being thrown in and playing like she’s been on the field for four years.”
However, Duke head coach Kerstin Kimel still thinks that the Blue Devils (3-0) have room to improve on offense. Despite whipping 20 shots on goal against the Wildcats Sunday, Kimel’s squad scored just nine times after an explosive 18-goal outing against the Fighting Camels.
“The biggest thing for us is that we certainly had a bunch of possessions [and] we really created good looks for ourselves, but we didn’t do a good job of finishing,” Kimel said.
After a tough start, the Hokies (2-2) have regrouped behind an explosive offense firing on all cylinders right now. Led by freshmen midfielder Emma Crooks—who racked up a whopping eight goals against Campbell—Virginia Tech has scored 37 goals in its past two contests and boasts four players with at least five tallies this season.
However, especially against No. 7 Southern California, the Hokies struggled clearing the ball, which kept their own offense at bay. In their other loss, redshirt senior goalkeeper Meagh Graham struggled in her only disappointing outing of the season.
Virginia Tech has also not been able to pressure opposing defenders into making bad decisions on clears, an area the Blue Devils have excelled in. Duke has successfully cleared 86.5 percent of its opportunities, but the Hokies have only stopped opponents on just more than 10 percent thus far.
But especially in their first road game—let alone first conference matchup—nothing can be guaranteed for this young Blue Devil squad.
“We’re going to try to look to keep things as simple as we possibly can going into Blacksburg. They’re scoring a lot of goals right now,” Kimel said. “Their last [three] games they’ve put double digits up on the board, and they’ll be ready for us.”
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