CHAPEL HILL, N.C.—Last year, the Blue Devil offense sputtered out of the gates in the UNC Nike Classic, getting shut out in back-to-back losses despite owning the No. 10 preseason ranking.
That does not seem to be an issue this time around—Duke’s offense is up and running.
The Blue Devils kicked off their regular-season slate in style Friday, dispatching Fresno State 5-0 at Fetzer Field to open the UNC Nike Classic. Head coach Robbie Church’s squad was relentless on the offensive end, outshooting the Bulldogs 35-8 and building a quick 3-0 lead in the opening period before coasting to the victory after intermission.
“We scored more goals in training [than last year]. We’ve got more attacking options this year than we had last year. But it’s always great to see five on the board,” Church said. “That’s something we really concentrated on this week after the Clemson [exhibition] game. We really concentrated on the offensive side of the ball, and it was nice to see that come to fruition for us today.”
Duke (1-0) came out firing right from the opening whistle, racking up 10 shots in the first 20 minutes—including four in the first five—and dominating possession in the attacking third. The Blue Devils had no shortage of chances in the early going, with headers from junior defender Lizzy Raben and freshman midfielder Taylor Racioppi narrowly missing the net.
Racioppi finally broke through for the Blue Devils, notching the first goal of her career to give Duke a 1-0 lead in the 18th minute. The Ocean Township, N.J., native scooped up a loose ball near the top of the 18-yard box, took a few dribbles down the left side and fired a shot just past the reach of Fresno State goalkeeper Nicole Theroux.
With the goal, Racioppi became the 16th player in program history to score in her first career start, and the first since teammate Cassie Pecht accomplished the feat at the outset of her National Rookie of the Year campaign in 2012.
“Just stepping on the field, getting a couple good passes and ultimately scoring a goal for my team was incredible—I mean there’s nothing like it,” said Racioppi, who came to Durham as the second-ranked recruit in her class. “I know we had a scrimmage, but this is the real thing. It’s the start of our season, it’s what’s going to give us momentum going forward. It was just so much fun to be on the field.”
It did not take long for one of Racioppi’s classmates to join her in the scoring column. Forward Kayla McCoy entered the game as a substitute in the 22nd minute and found the back of the net in the 30th minute to put the Bulldogs (0-1) in a 2-0 hole. A defensive clear by junior captain Christina Gibbons left McCoy—another top-three recruit—with a breakaway opportunity, and the Lincolnwood, Ill., product displayed some nifty footwork in maneuvering around Theroux before depositing the ball into a wide-open net.
At that point, the rout was on, but the Blue Devils showed no signs of letting up. After a pair of freshmen had notched their first career goals, sophomore Casey Martinez—who averaged 20 minutes per game as a freshman but did not find the back of the net—tallied her first career score in the 35th minute. Martinez took the ball near the left corner of the box and, with a tiny bit of separation from her defender, fired a rocket that snuck just inside the right post to stretch the Duke lead to 3-0.
In the second half, Racioppi—who led the team with five shots in just 47 minutes of action—continued her impressive debut with another goal in the 56th minute. Racioppi etched her name in the record books again with her second goal, becoming just the third Duke player to tally two goals in her first start.
The Blue Devils tacked on another goal late in the second half, when a run into the box by junior Toni Payne lead to an easy tap-in goal for sophomore forward Imani Dorsey.
“Having all those players scoring goals for us is a testament to the depth we have this year and it’s really special,” Racioppi said. “We’re able to make subs and have people come in and impact the game, and that’s big for us. We don’t want to have people just come into the game, we want them to come in and impact it, and I think every player that stepped on the field today did just that.”
Host No. 7 North Carolina defeated Weber State 3-0 in Friday’s nightcap. The Blue Devils will return to the field Sunday for an 11 a.m. tilt against the Wildcats.
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