Last year, the field hockey team dreamed of scoring just one goal. This year, the Blue Devils' scoring causes nightmares for the opposition.
On Saturday, Duke inaugurated its new West Campus Turf Field by defeating Central Michigan 6-1. The Blue Devils returned to the scene of the slaughter for even a bigger one on Sunday, as they thrashed Appalachian State 10-0.
"[The wins] showed us what our freshman can do offensively," head coach Jacki Silar said. "Obviously, it didn't show me much about our defense."
It is those freshmen, notably Emily Ford and Mary Jo Reider, that mark the difference between a 1994 team which tallied one goal or less 10 different times during the season. While the freshmen and their speed enabled Duke to move into scoring position, the upperclassmen dominated the final box.
Five minutes into Saturday's game, Central Michigan's Theresa O'Connor broke free and netted a goal past senior goalie Heather Moles. Moles and freshman goalie Sarah Doherty could take the rest of the weekend off, as the Duke's last line of defense would not be challenged again.
Sophomore Mandy Schott knotted the score 10 minutes later with a goal off a penalty corner assisted by junior Jodie Taylor. Schott saw limited action last year playing in only 11 games but impressed Silar so much in the preseason that she earned a starting job.
"Mandy worked really hard in the spring," Silar said. "Getting the starting nod today really gave her a lot confidence."
Seconds before halftime, senior defender Nicole Osmers and Reider gave Duke 2-1 lead off a botched penalty corner. With her normal passing lane cut off, Osmers, who was about 15 yards from the goal, lifted the ball into the air. It struck the crossbar and landed at the feet of Reider, who recorded her first college goal.
"I saw that there was no one in front of me, so I decided to lift it," said Osmers. "Mary Jo [Reider] was there to put it in, so it worked. But I didn't score--I wanted a goal so bad."
Osmers wouldn't get her goal this weekend but would finish with three assists for her two days of work. After the intermission, the floodgates opened, as sophomore Melissa Panasci scored off a corner assisted again by Taylor. Schott tallied another goal giving Duke the comfortable 4-1 lead.
Senior Tamara Gehris and Reider closed out the game with goals bringing the final body count to 6-1. Duke dominated the game highlighted the Blue Devils' success with penalty corners. Duke recorded 23 to the Chippewas' mere two. If Saturday's game was a rout, then Sunday was a massacre.
Perhaps feeling upstaged by all the attention the freshmen are receiving, last year's freshman phenom and scoring leader Panasci recorded a hat trick before halftime. Even at the beginning, the game was never close, as Duke outshot Appalachian State 63-0. Silar used this game as a opportunity to fine tune her explosive offense.
"I told [my players] that we were going to work on our game," Silar said.
After halftime, the game turned into a scoring free for all. Panasci would score two more goals bringing her two-day total to six goals. Last year, she had a team-high 15 goals in 20 games.
Combining her role as the main-hitter on corners and her incredibly hard hit, Panasci possesses a realistic chance of breaking the school record for most goals in a season--which is now held by Laura Gentile with 18 goals.
"I think our whole offensive line picked up in this game compared with the last one," Panasci said. "There was a lot of passing and combinations and good support from the midfielders."
Three players spread out the remaining five goals. Gehris and sophomore Cyndi Breyer tallied two apiece. Taylor took care of the final one.
Even though Duke easily handled its opponents this weekend, Silar remains cautiously optimistic especially after the last two years. A time when Duke won its opening weekend but finished with losing records. With an extremely difficult schedule that starts Atlantic Coast Conference play next Sunday at Maryland, Silar knows her team didn't face the kind of competition it will soon see.
But perhaps Mandy Schott's season-opening goal signaled the beginning of a new era--an era where Duke now holds the same potent offense to blow out opponents that they should easily defeat. The shot sent a message to her older sister, Susannah, who plays field hockey for a team that has been doing just that to the Blue Devils for a long time.
Susannah lives 11 miles away right off of 15-501 and plays for the Tar Heels which have beaten the Blue Devils straight times. Maybe Schott and the Blue Devil offense will change that and other ACC streaks this season.
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