A break-even record was far more than a break-even proposition for the women's lacrosse team in 1997.
In just its second year of existence, Duke finished the season with three straight wins and an 8-8 record, vastly improving from its inaugural mark of 3-12 in 1996.
Along the way, the Blue Devils established a strong presence in the net and on attack. They broke in nine freshmen, seven of whom saw considerable playing time.
At times Duke was dominant, at times dominated. It learned to dispatch of the weaker teams but struggled against national powers such as Maryland and Virginia. All throughout, though, the Blue Devils were much more consistently competitive than last year's rookie model.
"As our record shows, we definitely stepped up our game and became a lot more consistent than we were last year," junior Heather Keeney said. "We definitely still have things we need to work on in terms of consistency-I think we still play down for some teams and up for others. But we were able to win practically every close game that we had this year, which was a very important steppingstone for us to improve."
Duke's season was split into three parts. It began the season 3-1, only to lose seven of nine games during an extended mid-season slide.
On April 19, the Blue Devils stood at 5-8-six of the losses coming at the hands of top-10 teams. But despite the slump, the players still focused on winning their last three games and finishing at .500, a lofty benchmark for a young team. With season-ending wins over Villanova, Lehigh and an 18-6 stomping of Davidson, Duke accomplished its goal and walk away from the season feeling optimistic about the future.
"We're more than in the middle pack, but we're making our way up towards being able to contend with those better teams," Keeney said. "The main thing, something our coach has stressed a lot, is being mentally tough.
"Because we're all so young and haven't had the experience of other teams, we get intimidated sometimes by some of the better teams. It's important that we develop that toughness and are able to step up and control our own destiny next year."
In order for Duke to control its own destiny in the Atlantic Coast Conference, its toughness will have to improve, as will overall play. The Blue Devils lost all four of their ACC games, coming no closer than a 7-2 defeat against UNC on April 1. Included in the mix were two double-digit losses to Maryland.
Coach Kerstin Kimel hopes to better one of the team's weaknesses, the midfield, by bringing in a strong freshman class.
Duke's offense and defense will also grow as the current group of players mature. More than 40 percent of the roster from '97 was comprised of freshmen, and the experience they gained should show in future seasons.
Many of the freshmen made an instant splash in their first year. Attacker Tricia Martin tied sophomore Meghan McLaughlin for the team lead in goals with 28.
Goalkeeper Shannon Chaney started all 16 games and registered a .593 save percentage, turning a Blue Devils' weakness from '96 into a strength. Emily Hickman and Keri Dunn also started every game, scoring eight and 13 goals, respectively. More importantly, they joined with veterans such as Keeney and sophomore Sandy Johnston in shoring up Duke's defense in front of the net.
"I think the defenders felt the difference [from '96] a lot more than the attackers-just because we really did come together and gel as a unit," Keeney said. "Last year we were more playing as individuals. [Playing together] is something our attack and midfield started to do toward the end of the season. Feeling the difference there, that gives us a lot to build on for next year, especially with all of the experience we'll have."
Indeed, in '98 the Blue Devils will finally boast a roster comprised of mostly veterans. Though Duke plans to bring in another big recruiting class, it will also have seniors on the field for the first time.
Thus the Blue Devils are already looking ahead at their third season with high aspirations. The NCAA Tournament is expanding, and Duke hopes for a breakthrough, both in games against top-10 teams as well as during the post-season.
"[The NCAAs] is definitely a huge goal of our team next year," Keeney said. "I think that if we come up with the big wins that we didn't come up with this year, like William & Mary (a 9-8 loss) and Dartmouth (a 14-10 loss)-games like that that we easily could have won-we definitely have a shot at it."
A bold statement, but one that an 8-8 record this year makes seem much more possible.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.