The Pioneers of Denver University traveled 1,437 miles to face the women's lacrosse team yesterday, only to be shut out by a score of 15-0 by the Blue Devils in Duke's season opener.
"I think we did some really good things. Especially defensively we played real aggressively," coach Kerstin Kimel said.
Duke (1-0) outshot the Pioneers (0-2) 35-5 en route to its first shutout in the program's three-year history. Sophomore goalie Shannon Chaney stopped one shot, while junior Erin Miller finished the game with two saves of her own.
Strangely enough, the true credit for the shutout went to the offense. Denver rarely had the ball in Duke's territory and when it did, it was not for long.
"Offensively, we looked good at points, but we still are not where I think we should be," Kimel said.
The scoring onslaught began for the Blue Devils just two minutes into the game when sophomore Tricia Martin scored her first of three goals on an assist from freshman Kate Soulier.
Martin added her second goal a mere 2:34 later after a penalty on the Pioneers. With 22 minutes remaining in the first half, though, Denver was still in the contest, trailing just 2-0.
At this point, the Blue Devils decided to put the game away. They scored four goals in the next 3:14 to open up a 6-0 lead. Junior Kendra Basner netted two of her three goals in the stretch, while freshmen Courtney Rogers and Soulier each added one.
"I think we're really getting the ball down the field and getting a lot of fast breaks," Martin said. "Hopefully, we will continue to score early."
Duke opened up a 10-0 lead with 11:45 left in the first half and cruised the rest of the way.
The last 40 minutes of the game found the Blue Devils experimenting with new rotations and trying to work out any kinks in their strategies for game situations. Offensive players were given the chance to play some defense and vice versa.
"We tried to work on a lot of our plays and get some ball movement," Kimel said.
While Duke did not have too many chances to work on its defense, it took advantage of each opportunity. Pioneer goalie Gemma McDonald had quite a time trying to pass the ball after each save, sometimes holding the ball for nearly a minute. The passes she did make were often dropped by the recipient.
"We work a lot on re-defending in practice," Martin said. "It's a lot easier to get the ball back that low instead of waiting for the opponent to move it all the way down."
Denver rarely forced Duke into tough situations, while the Blue Devils kept the pressure on the Pioneers throughout the game, forcing 23 turnovers.
"I think that our defense is fairly experienced," Kimel said. "We're definitely capable of playing tight man-to-man defense."
Even though Duke cruised to victory yesterday, Denver is nowhere near the caliber of opponents Duke will be facing in the coming weeks. It is hard to remain intense and focused in such a blowout, but the Blue Devils realize they will only play one Denver this year.
"We've got a tough schedule," Kimel said. "We've got a big game Friday. We wanted to come out of this game playing well enough to feel very confident going in Friday, but I don't know if that's how we're feeling."
The Blue Devils return to action this Friday to host Atlantic Coast Conference rival Maryland at 7 p.m.
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