What do Kim Daws, Kari Juncker, Liz Speights, Sherrill Kester, Stefanie Kraay and Emily Feeney have in common? All six have started for the women's soccer team, and five could miss the rest of the season because of knee injuries.
Juncker and Speights have been out for the entire season. Daws went down in a Sept. 1 contest with Central Florida, Kester suffered a stress fracture midway through the season and Feeney strained her medial collateral ligament in practice just before the Duke adidas Women's Soccer Classic. Kraay went down with a severely sprained left ankle during an October 14 matchup with UNC-Greensboro.
Kraay's status for the remainder of the season is questionable. Feeney's injury may allow her to return soon, but her return date has yet to be determined, while Kester may come back for the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in early November.
Instead of just giving up and considering this season a lost cause, Duke coach Bill Hempen and company have rallied together around a strong "team" concept to produce a No. 7 ranking, an impressive 12-3 overall record, and a 4-0 mark in the ACC. And Hempen has not let these achievements go unnoticed.
"[Playing as a team] is the only way they can play," Hempen said. "If we are not all 100 percent in the game, things break down. But this is as hard-working a group as we've ever had. They play hard, and they play together. "
The coach has asked many players to step in and fill the void left by injuries-and they have done so admirably. One of these players is senior defender Amanda Remy. After spending her freshman year on the bench, Remy transferred to Oklahoma, which did not have a soccer program at the time, for her sophomore year. She returned to Duke in 1996, and Duke soccer fans are quite happy she decided not to stay with the Sooners.
"I came back because I just really missed soccer," Remy said.
Although she logged few minutes her junior year, Remy has come through for the Blue Devils this year, and no one is happier than Hempen.
"Amanda's story is the kind coaches love," Hempen said. "She came in this year as prepared as she'd ever been, and the opportunity was there for her. Now, she will not let her position slip away."
Remy said that she knew coming into the season that she would have a good chance to take over for the injured Speights but that she would have to work hard to earn that spot. Hard work and dedication have allowed Remy to be in the position she is in now, a starter on the seventh-ranked team in the country. Her play has greatly improved now that she is a constant starter.
"I definitely feel more relaxed now," Remy said. "I feel comfortable out there, and I think that my teammates are more comfortable with me too."
Senior Andi Melde, who was named ACC player of the week for her efforts against UNC-Greensboro and Maryland last week, has also contributed immensely to this remarkable season. Not only is she the team leader in points, but she is a leader off the field as well. The experienced Melde has helped keep this injury-riddled team focused on winning. She has always been a leader on the team, but since this season's injuries depleted the Blue Devils' roster, she has really come through for them.
"Even before the injuries, Andi was a leader who was having a great year," Hempen said. "She is giving everything she has to this team. I don't know if anybody has demonstrated senior leadership better than Andi has, of all the kids I've had come through here."
Other players have had to fill in for Duke as well. Defender Snow Brenner, who is only a freshman, had to step in and play big against Maryland Friday night. She has received a kind of baptism by fire, having to unexpectedly play a large role in her first collegiate season. Although Brenner may have been nervous in her first games, she is gaining valuable experience as the season progresses.
It is definitely not easy to get the ball in the net when two of the three leading scorers fall to injury, but senior forward Samantha Baggett, junior midfielder Kristy Whelchel, and sophomore forward Kim Cahill have raised their level of play in an effort to help out Duke's scoring leader, Melde. In fact, after Kester fell to a stress fracture on her foot, Baggett moved up the field from defender to forward in order to give the Blue Devils an offensive spark. All of these names by themselves mean nothing, but together as a team, this is quite an impressive group of soccer players that the ACC and the rest of the nation will need to watch out for as the season draws to a close.
"Everyone is helping everyone," Remy said. "The injured players are encouraging the ones coming off the bench. It has been a team effort and everyone that has had to step up has done a great job."
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