Competing in the NCAA tournament is nothing new for the Blue Devils, whose seniors have already been to two Final Fours.
But competing as the top overall seed is still unfamiliar territory for Duke.
Despite a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to North Carolina in the semifinals of the ACC tournament, the Blue Devils received the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament. Led by a reliable defense that has allowed just five goals in its last six games, Duke will host American Saturday at 11:30 a.m. at Jack Katz Stadium, with the winner advancing to Sunday’s quarterfinal to face the winner of Louisville-Delaware.
American knocked off Kent State 2-1 Wednesday in a tournament play-in game, and carries a three-game winning streak into Saturday’s tilt as the Blue Devils try to shake off their second loss to North Carolina this season. The Tar Heels outshot Duke 22-6.
“We’re trying to get everyone back on the same page,” junior defender Alyssa Chillano said. “We want to get everyone playing the field hockey that we know and that we are good at—back to our basic skills, back to our fast play, back to our attacking mindset.”
Saturday’s matchup will be the first between Duke (15-3) and American (14-6) since 2010, when the Eagles came away with a 3-1 victory in Washington. Although the Blue Devil defense led Duke to 11 top-20 wins during the regular season, redshirt freshman goalkeeper Sammi Steele and company will face an American offense that averages nearly 16 shots per game.
The Patriot League champions have four players with at least seven goals on the season led by Natalie Konerth, who has 14 tallies on the year.
Penalty corner defense—an area of inconsistency for the Blue Devils during the year—will be particularly important against the Eagles, who have garnered 165 corners to Duke’s 95. But with Steele playing her best at the end of the season after goalkeeper was a question mark coming in to the season, the Blue Devils are confident they can make a second straight Final Four with two wins this week behind their back line.
“Our program traditionally takes pride in our defense,” Duke head coach Pam Bustin said. “It’s something we take pride in and want to rely on. One of the season’s unknowns was losing [goalkeeper] Lauren Blazing, who was a four-year starter and All-American, and how we would have either Sammi or Kelsey [Wagner] step into that role.... I couldn’t be more pleased with our goalie situation.”
Although Duke made the Final Four last year, it entered the NCAA tournament as a 2-4 ACC team that needed to upset No. 3 seed Virginia to get there.
Even after losing Blazing and four other key seniors, adding freshmen like Margaux Paolino—who set the program’s freshman assist record with 13—to a veteran offense sparked a team that won its first eight games for the first time ever.
“We started the season with uncertain expectations,” Bustin said. “We didn’t know where our definite strengths would be and who would step up. The team accepted that and every week we worked to see what our strengths were and as we kept building, we started to identify them, all of which has led us to where we are now.”
It’s clear now that the team excels at turning defense into offense, pushing the ball forward after strong challenges force turnovers. The result is a dangerous team that outscores opponents 3.4-1.5 on average and scored at least five goals five times during the regular season.
Chillano, senior Heather Morris and graduate student Aisling Naughton have combined for 32 goals on the year, but three of their teammates have backed them up with at least five apiece when defenses focus on Duke’s main offensive weapons.
If the Blue Devils best American, a contest against Louisville (15-5) would a familiar one—Duke knocked off the then-No. 6 Cardinals on the road 1-0 earlier this year. A game against Delaware (19-2) would be more uncertain, as the nation’s leading scorer Greta Nauck powers a top-five scoring offense that notches 4.2 tallies each time it takes the field.
After advancing to the Final Four in 2013 on their home field, the Blue Devil seniors hope they can experience that feeling again as they pursue the program’s first-ever national title.
“It’s an awesome thing to earn,” Bustin said of home-field advantage. “It’s not easy to have that home seed and we’re excited to be here with our fans and the familiarity of Jack Katz Stadium. It’s great that we can stay on our regular schedule all week. It’s exciting to see everyone get ready for the weekend.”
Amrith Ramkumar contributed reporting.
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