After beating North Carolina Saturday to clinch the Blue Devils’ first ever ACC regular-season title and lift them to the No. 1 spot in the polls, this week has already been one to remember for Duke’s seniors.
But the most memorable day of them all may be Saturday, when they take their home turf for the last regular season game of their college careers.
Top-ranked Duke will honor its seniors on Senior Day when it hosts Richmond Saturday at 1 p.m. at Jack Katz Stadium. The Blue Devils are coming off a 3-0 victory against the Tar Heels that marked their first win against their Tobacco Road rival since 2013—the freshman year for the group of players that will be honored Saturday.
“They were freshmen the first time we went to the Final Four and played for the championship,” Duke head coach Pam Bustin said. “For them to come full circle with the season that they’re having so far, it’s awesome and deserving.”
Although the matchup against the Spiders will be a showcase for Duke’s seniors, a redshirt freshman has been the standout performer of late for the Blue Devils (14-2).
Goalkeeper Sammi Steele shut down the North Carolina offense Saturday to record her fourth shutout of the season. After giving up three goals in the second half of the first matchup between the teams, Steele helped Duke hold its lead and finished with eight saves in the win.
The Eagleville, Pa., native was named both the National Defensive Player of the Week and the ACC Defensive Player of the Week following the game.
“Beating UNC gave us a lot of confidence,” Steele said. “We’ve been strong consistently throughout the season, and I think that’s really going to help us going into the postseason.”
Duke has allowed 1.5 goals per contest this season and has held opponents to a shot percentage of just .150. After redshirting last year behind All-American Lauren Blazing, Steele has become one of the best goalies in the the country after initially splitting time between the pipes with senior Kelsey Wagner.
“She really took advantage of that season,” Bustin said. “She paid attention, she learned, she trained, she did her individual lessons and she came in prepared.”
Following eight consecutive games against ranked opponents, the Blue Devils will take on a Richmond team that has struggled throughout the season. The Spiders (7-9) average only 1.7 goals per game and have scored just four goals in their last four games.
But Duke knows it has a new target on its back as the top team in the country and must come out ready to play no matter who they face.
“Honestly, the ranking today doesn’t really matter,” Bustin said. “We have to stay where we are every single day and take care of business every single day in this stage of the process.”
In order to take care of business, Duke will have to contain Richmond senior Emma Johanssen. Johansson leads the Spiders’ offense with six goals this season, but will need to get help from her teammates to keep pace with an explosive Blue Devil offense.
Duke has almost doubled Richmond’s goals per game average this season, and a big reason for the Blue Devils’ success on offense has been senior Heather Morris, who is tied for the team lead with 11 goals on the season.
Morris will look to use the Senior Day spotlight as a chance to continue adding to her illustrious career. During an early nonconference home game against James Madison Sept. 11, Morris scored four goals in the first half. Although an encore is unlikely, look for the senior and her classmate Robin Blazing to use the stage to cap arguably the most successful regular season in program history.
Following the game against Richmond, Duke will face either Lousiville or North Carolina in the semifinals of the ACC tournament. Saturday’s matchup may not feature the top competition the Blue Devils will face in the postseason, but the team has learned better than to look past an opponent at this point in the season.
“Just beating UNC wasn’t the end,” Steele said. “We still have so many more games to go and this is just one of them that we need to win.”
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Ben Feder contributed reporting.
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Digital Strategy Director for Vol. 115, Michael was previously Sports Editor for Vol. 114 and Assistant Blue Zone Editor for Vol. 113. Michael is a senior majoring in Statistical Science and is interested in data analytics and using data to make insights.