The California heat proved to be no match for Duke, and it was certainly no problem for junior Alaina McVeigh, who became the 25th Duke player to reach 25 career goals.
On Friday, the 12th-ranked Blue Devils opened up their road trip with a 4-0 victory against No. 20 Cal. The matchup took place on homeground for the Golden Bears at Underhill Field in Berkeley, Calif. Yet, Duke made the pitch their own, putting on an offensive clinic and ending its roughly 300-minute scoreless stretch.
Then Bustin’s squad looked to secure a weekend sweep with a matchup against Stanford Sunday. The blazing heat set the tone for a mentally and physically demanding match at Varsity Field Hockey Turf in Stanford, Calif. Despite the weather, the Blue Devils (7-4) secured a 3-0 victory against the Cardinal and improved their conference record to 3-1.
“We're going to have to continuously work on it and continue to keep the rhythm and continue to keep the connections that are bringing us the goals,” head coach Pam Bustin said. “This team has been working hard, as frustrating as it could be at times, they continue to keep to the basics and keep working on it.”
The scoring drought was put to an end by none other than McVeigh. The goal came off a penalty corner by teammate Macy Szukics who found senior Logan Clouser off the insert. Clouser, setting the ball at the top of the circle, found the stick of McVeigh in the midst of the Cal (6-3) defense, who ultimately deflected the ball into the top left corner of the net. With that, the Landsdale, Pa., native secured her 50th career point and her teammates surrounded her to celebrate. That wasn't the end of celebrating career milestones for the weekend, though.
With just one more goal needed to reach 25, McVeigh opened up the second match of the weekend with immediate pressure. Her most dangerous opportunity came in the first five minutes of play, as she found herself alone in the circle winding back to strike. However, a last-ditch effort by a Stanford defender blocked the attempt. Leaving the half up 1-0, McVeigh’s milestone was still in sight.
A fourth quarter penalty corner for Duke presented the team with the opportunity to create some cushion room with their 1-0 lead. An insert from senior Kira Curland, ultimately found the stick of McVeigh. From the top of the circle, the Blue Devils’ leading scorer blasted a shot past a sea of Cardinal defense, slipping through the goalie and finding the back of the net.
“She’s a competitor, and she’s extremely talented,” Bustin said on McVeigh’s performance. “With the rest of the team in their frustrations, she just kept to it, kept working on things, focusing more on some of the details of what we need to do to give ourselves better scoring opportunities. And she's able to do it.”
The matchup against Stanford featured a strong first quarter by Duke. The Blue Devils applied high pressure in the offensive zone and kept most of the play within the final third, ending the quarter with five shots. Entering the second, the Cardinal proved to be a more competitive opponent, connecting passes together and testing Duke goalie Frederique Wollaert.
The Blue Devils finally found the scoresheet with an opportunity from its captain, Charlie van Oirschot. The graduate student, after receiving a long pass, impressively controlled the ball past a defender. With the net in view, Orishot dribbled through one final defender before perfectly placing the ball in the corner of the net with a strong strike. The goal was Oirschot’s first of the season.
The rest of play, following McVeigh’s contribution in the fourth quarter, remained steady for Bustin’s team. Duke attempted to find success down the lines, while on the other end of the field Stanford attempted to create traffic in front of the net. With an empty net by the Cardinal in the last few minutes of play, grad student Barb Civitella cemented the 3-0 Blue Devil victory and a weekend sweep of two new ACC competitors.
“I think the ACC coming west, particularly Cal and Stanford, is really healthy for the sport of field hockey,” Bustin said. “It's different for us, it's tough. It's a long way, but great games.”
While offensive success was the narrative of the weekend, the defense efforts were just as strong. Wollaert earned herself two shutouts, while freshman Julia Boehringer scored her first goal as a member of the Duke squad in the matchup against Cal — the other three goals came from McVeigh and Clouser. The victory against the Golden Bears was the team’s fourth ranked victory of the season.
The Blue Devils continue their road trip with a matchup a little closer to home against Wake Forest Friday.
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