The women's soccer team, fresh off its first two wins of the year, returns home this weekend to host national power Portland and Atlantic Coast Conference foe Florida State.
Head coach Bill Hempen's squad (2-3, 0-1 in the ACC) has had nearly a week of rest since its 2-1 victory over UCLA last Sunday, and it will certainly need it. Portland brings its No. 4 ranking and a high powered attack to the Duke Soccer Stadium at 1 p.m. on Saturday. The Pilots, who came within a single goal of last year's NCAA title, hardly seem to have noticed the loss of All-America forward Shannon MacMillan, as they have cruised to a 4-0 record.
MacMillan, who scored the game-winning goal in the United States' Olympic gold medal victory, graduated last spring. The Pilots, however, have not skipped a beat, and they appear well on their way back to the NCAA tournament. Midfielder Justi Baumgardt has taken the lead for a well-rounded and talented team. Baumgardt was named to Soccer America's Team of the Week for the second time last week, when she tallied three goals and three assists in wins over two top 20 opponents.
"They've got solid players all around," Hempen said. "They only lost [MacMillan] and they are expecting to compete for the national championship again this year."
Duke will counter with a superb midfield of its own. Sophomore Kristy Whelchel leads the team in scoring with five goals in five games. Meanwhile, freshman Sherrill Kester was also named to the Soccer America Team of the Week, scoring goals in each of the Duke victories last weekend. Kester's play has been a big boost for a young Duke lineup that has battled through a difficult schedule thus far.
"Even at 0-3, it never got to the point where we felt something has to be done," Hempen said. "There was no sense of panic. We haven't done anything different, we've just tried to turn the intensity level up a bit in training, [because] every time we play we are in a battle."
While Hempen's midfield play has been strong, he pointed to the defense as the most impressive group thus far. Lauren Cyran, Samantha Baggett and Liz Speights have combined to give Duke a rock-solid back line against some of the stiffest competition in the nation.
"We've given up some goals, but the other teams have had to fight for every single one," Hempen said. "Nothing has been given up easily."
Florida State, which visits Sunday at 4 p.m., is a bit harder for the Blue Devils to measure than Portland. The Seminoles-in only their second year of competition-have jumped out to a 5-1 start (0-1 ACC), including four road wins. Like Duke, they are a young team, talented but facing a difficult road schedule. Florida State's style is a high-scoring attack-one that totaled 17 goals last week alone, including an amazing 11 against Jacksonville.
Is there a danger of taking the Seminoles lightly Sunday after hosting the NCAA runners-up on Saturday? Hempen does not think so.
"[FSU] is building," Hempen said. "Right now they may be at the bottom of the [ACC], but we have seen what teams at the bottom of this conference can do. I am expecting a great improvement over the FSU team we saw a year ago."
That game was a tough 2-0 victory for the Blue Devils in Tallahassee, despite Duke's obvious edge in talent and experience against the first-year club. Hempen's crew hopes that a bit of home cooking-it will be just the third home game for Duke-will propel them to a more convincing win this year.
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