The field hockey team could've approached Saturday's home opener against Appalachian State in a variety of ways. Coming in, Duke was clearly the better team and had the opportunity to either coast to an easy win or play hard for 70 minutes and work on its game.
The Blue Devils (1-1) chose the latter and ended up with a record-setting afternoon.
Duke outshot the Mountaineers (1-1) 48-0 en route to a 13-0 thrashing of overmatched Appalachian St. The 13 goals set a school record for goals in a game.
But aside from the numbers, the Blue Devils' effort was much higher and more sustained than the Mountaineers' throughout. Even late in the game, it was Duke players who were diving to the turf and attacking the ball as if the game were still on the line.
"We went in knowing they weren't as strong as us," junior Mary Jo Reider said. "We wanted to keep our level up the whole game. We have a big weekend coming up and wanted to maintain our intensity throughout."
Reider led the Blue Devils with a career-high four goals on the afternoon.
Senior Mandy Schott led off the scoring when junior Emily Ford cruised down the right side of the field and dished in front to Schott, who stuffed the first goal in. Reider put home the next two and Duke was on its way.
"We don't have many home games," coach Liz Tchou said. "We have to make them count with our effort. We have to be the aggressors out there."
Sophomore Corey Ceccolini put the Blue Devils' ahead 4-0 with one of her career-best three goals before senior Melissa Panasci closed out the first half scoring on a penalty corner. The goal was her fourth of the year.
Perhaps more remarkably, it was Panasci's only goal of the game. Aside from Reider and Ceccolini, Schott and sophomore Keri Dunn each added two goals apiece. Ford scored the other.
The second half saw the Blue Devils continue to pound away at the Mountaineers' cage. Duke added eight more goals right down to the last two seconds, when Ceccolini closed out the scoring by recording a hat trick.
"Everybody has the ability to score," Reider said. "Now it's opening up a little bit more for all of us."
And while the offense was flying, so was Duke's defense. Starter Sarah Doherty and backup Jenn Robb never saw a ball in front of the cage. The Blue Devils didn't allow a shot and only once or twice did the ball even come within 25 yards of the Duke goal.
With Duke's young defense looking for an opportunity to gain confidence, this was certainly the time.
"It's definitely an esteem-builder," junior Trina Santomauro said. "It gets all the flies out. I think our defense has pretty much clicked, and it's a matter now of getting experience."
The Blue Devils made sure that the experience counted. With Lehigh and Princeton looming on the horizon next weekend, Duke wanted to use Appalachian St. as a means to prepare for the trip to New Jersey. Tchou and the players said after the game that they still have much to work on this week, but that games like this allow them to work in a real situation.
Duke's effort showed that the players took advantage of the opportunity.
"No matter how good or bad a team is, you want to respect them," said. "Even though one person could've taken the ball down and scored, we needed to play Appalachian St. like we would anyone else. This was a good way for us to get on the field."
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