Women's soccer, field hockey begin seasons this weekend

After nearly leaving the helm of the women's soccer team, the only coach in the program's 12-year history will lead his team back to his home state to open the season as Duke takes on Missouri Friday night and St. Louis Sunday afternoon. Yet as coach Bill Hempen and his squad head west to begin the 1999 season, the primary focus will not be on the Tigers and Billikens but rather on avoiding the devastating injuries that have plagued the Blue Devils the last two years. Last year, three season-ending injuries dashed early-season optimism and resulted in a mediocre record of 7-11-2. "The last couple of years we've had a few major injuries and not enough quality depth to be able to play the type of teams that we try to play year in and year out," Hempen said. "I think back to our year of 1991 when we were 8-10-1 and had six starters out. A year later we go to the [NCAA] final with basically the same team and no injuries. So that's how close we are from one season to the next to being a championship-caliber team." Hempen will be heading westward to kick off this season, the veteran coach considered leaving the program to pursue a coaching vacancy in Westwood, Calif., with perennial powerhouse UCLA. Hempen said he decided to return to Duke because of his pride in the program and a feeling that things were heading in the right direction. Like last season, the Blue Devils have already lost the services of three players. Senior Emily Feeney, who finished second on last year's squad with 14 points, is out indefinitely as she attempts to recover from a foot injury. Sophomore Jamie Parker, who redshirted last season due to a broken collarbone, is expected to miss the next couple weeks with a concussion. Sophomore Alison Sanders will miss a second straight season as she continues to recover from an ACL injury. In addition to early-season injuries, Duke will have to cope with the loss of three talented seniors from last year's team. Kari Juncker and first-team All-ACC member Kristy Whelchel were two of the team's five leading scorers a year ago, while goalkeeper Dana Piper departed with the second-most career saves in Blue Devil history. While Feeney recuperates from her injury, captains Sherrill Kester and Kasey Truman will account for much of the team's scoring. Truman finished first in assists last year and third in goals and points. After leading the offense in points and garnering second-team All-ACC honors, Kester hopes to guide this year's team to two early-season victories. "If we could win these two games, it would help us be confident and know that we can win games and that we're a good team," Kester said. Both games this weekend will be against unfamiliar opposition as the Blue Devils have never squared off against either St. Louis or Missouri in a regular-season game. Hempen expects a repeat of the style of game played by the Tigers in a 2-2 exhibition tie last spring. "We are looking for a high-pressured, direct game from Missouri," Hempen said. "[Missouri will try to] get [the ball] in our end and hope to keep it in our end, and we're going to try to do the same thing to them. If we get any luck at all, we'll score more goals this year than we did a year ago, and hopefully we can get a good road victory." Neal Morgan contributed to this story.