Knowing that this weekend could be the last time they play on their home field, the Blue Devil seniors will look to keep their careers alive Friday night in Durham.
No. 3 seed Duke will play host to Illinois State Friday evening at 6 p.m. at Koskinen Stadium in the second round of the NCAA tournament. The winner of Friday’s contest will advance to take on the winner of the tilt earlier in the day between Northwestern and SIUE, with a chance to move to the NCAA quarterfinals.
For Duke, the NCAA tournament has taken on even more importance following the Blue Devils’ early exit in the ACC tournament at the hands of Florida State two weeks ago.
“You’re in the NCAA tournament. You’re in a one-and-done situation. People can eliminate you. Your season can end—all the work you’ve done since August could come to an end,” Duke head coach Robbie Church said. “Now we know if we slip up, if we don’t score goals, if we lose anything, that we have four girls’ careers over with. And our season is over with too.”
Although all the Blue Devils (13-4-3) are acutely aware of the possibility of an abrupt end to their season, perhaps no group is more cognizant of that fact than the four seniors on the roster. Following tight losses to Clemson and Florida State at the end of the regular season and in the ACC tournament, respectively, the seniors know that the NCAA tournament represents a chance to make amends for the championship game loss a year ago.
Forward Toni Payne has led her class lately, carrying Duke with her urgency and intensity. Payne notched a goal and two assists against Charlotte. In the opening-round win, the Blue Devils turned up the pressure on offense, firing 15 shots on the 49ers and allowing just three on the other end of the field.
Payne, who is tied for second on the team with six assists, has been a key cog in an offense that ranks third in the nation for its 2.7 assists per game. Sharing the ball and finding open looks has been critical for Duke all season, and it will be especially important against an Illinois State team that has only given up four goals in its last six games.
“We do well when we get the first goal and are really on top of the other team,” Payne said. “That’s going to be how we approach the next game. If we can come out really hard and really aggressive it should be a good game for us."
On the other end of the field, the Blue Devils will have to contend with a top-25 Illinois State offense that averages nearly 2.2 goals per game. The Redbirds (14-5-3) are led by redshirt senior Lauren Koehl, who has 41 points this season compared to 24 by Duke leader freshman Ella Stevens. Koehl has already made her presence known in the postseason, notching one of her team’s two goals in an upset victory against Michigan.
Although Duke won comfortably against Charlotte, there were periods where the 49ers were able to get more comfortable stringing passes together. The Blue Devils will look to keep up the pressure against the Redbirds and prevent any potentially lapses.
“Our defending starts with our forwards. Everybody is a defender when we don’t have the ball,” Church said. “We had quick transitions to defending from our attack. We really wanted to lock them in on their side of the field and keep them locked in.”
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s upset against second-seeded Notre Dame gave Duke the chance to host the second-round game as well as the potential third-round game pending a win Friday. But the Blue Devils understand that home-field advantage will not be enough to keep their season going, especially after seeing the Wolverines and Fighting Irish upset at home last week by the same two teams traveling to Durham.
“We don’t win just because we’re at home. You win because you put the hard work into it,” Church said. “Home field doesn’t score you any goals. It doesn’t keep any goals out of the back of the net.”
On Friday, Duke has an opportunity to continue its journey toward a second-straight berth in the NCAA championship game and get back on track after an inconsistent stretch in recent weeks.
“Our team really, really likes each other and really enjoy being together. So the great thing about winning in the NCAA tournament is you’re together another week,” Church said. “So now we’re looking to be together for another week after this weekend.”
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