"Geez, how hard can it be to get that little ball in the goal?" was a common question heard in the crowd during the field hockey team's game against Temple Sunday at the West Campus Turf Field.
On the field, Duke must have been thinking about exactly the same question.
Duke's offense was nonexistent this weekend as it was shut out in both of the games it played. On Saturday, the Blue Devils fell to the top-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels in Chapel Hill by the score of 1-0. The team was dealt an even more emotional blow on Sunday, as Duke dropped one to the No. 7 Temple Owls in sudden death double overtime by the same score of 1-0.
What makes these losses so discouraging is the fact that, in both games, Duke (2-4) played extremely well in almost all areas. The defense, anchored by ACC Rookie of the Year goalkeeper Heather Moles, was outstanding against the crushing offenses of both UNC and Temple. Duke's midfield, led by junior Jennifer Salvatore, was also superb as it helped take the pressure off Moles.
The main problem with the team was its inability to generate any sort of offense. Part of this was due to the fact that the Blue Devils lost two of their key offensive players, senior Lisa Ehrhart and sophomore Tamara Gehris, to injuries. Neither saw any action this weekend.
Against UNC, the Blue Devils were overwhelmed from the very start. UNC's offense completely dominated the game, as it constantly drove deep into Blue Devil territory. The Tar Heels took 23 shots on goal in the game, 11 of which came inside the circle.
But even if a UNC player got by the Duke defense, she would have to go one-on-one with Moles. Moles had a superb outing as she made some unbelievable saves against the Tar Heels. In the first half alone, Moles had eight saves, some of which came from point-blank range.
While Duke's defense was fighting for its life, the offense was asleep. The Blue Devils seemed confused as they only managed one shot on goal for the game.
Under constant pressure, Duke's defense finally crumbled about 15 minutes into the second half. Freshman phenom Cindy Werley put a rebound shot past Moles to put the Tar Heels ahead for good.
After the game, head coach Jacki Silar seemed content with the team's effort.
"We had nothing to lose," Silar said. "We followed our game plan. We did most of the things we wanted, even though there did seem to be a lot of miscommunication between the players."
Concerning the team's lack of offense Silar said, "Our forwards seemed to be hiding, but they did have a lot of responsibility because they had to watch UNC's defensive players."
Sunday's game against seventh-rated Temple was the first-ever meeting between the two teams, and it shouldn't be the last. The two teams played what had to be one of the most entertaining games of the year.
Duke came out firing on all cylinders. The defense, led by senior co-captain Mary Lewis, was just as impressive against Temple as it was against Carolina. The Owls had trouble getting even remotely close to Duke's goal.
Against Temple, the Blue Devil offense seemed more alive. One of the reasons was the play of the midfield, especially that of Salvatore.
Salvatore served as a spark in the first half as she seemed to intercept Temple's passes at will. She constantly headed the offensive attack and made sure the ball stayed in Temple's end.
However, as much as the offense moved the ball against the Temple defense, it just couldn't get the ball into the net. Duke had 29 shots on goal, 15 of which were blocked by Temple's superb goalie, junior Lori Benner.
The Blue Devils had 14 penalty corners, but could not convert on any of them.
Part of their inability to convert the corners had to do with the absences of Gehris and Ehrhart, both of whom are the ones who make the initial pass on the penalty corners.
Due to Duke's inability to score, the game, which Duke clearly dominated, headed into overtime. By this time Duke was exhausted, and it showed.
Both overtimes were played almost exclusively in Duke's end of the field. The Duke defense finally broke down six minutes into the second OT, as a shot by Temple's Jennifer Higgins got by Moles to give Temple the win.
"It's frustrating," said Salvatore. "We played well. I guess we'll take this one step at a time. We'll get it right eventually."
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