CHAPEL HILL - While the Duke women's soccer team is always happy with a win, their victory over a mediocre Oregon team in the Nike Carolina Classic Friday night left much to be desired.
"I think it was a sub-par effort on our part," coach Bill Hempen said after the Blue Devils' 1-0 triumph over the Ducks. "I'm disappointed with the way [my players] came out to play."
However, Hempen's dissatisfaction Friday turned into happiness yesterday as Duke rebounded solidly from its previous performance, routing South Carolina 5-1. The victory showed a vast improvement in the Blue Devils' goal-scoring execution, an area that plagued them throughout their match against Oregon.
In Friday's game, Duke was only able to muster one goal-a 16-yard chip by Alexis Highsmith that tucked into the right corner of the goal-off 35 shot attempts, signaling a problem of capitalizing on scoring opportunities.
But this problem ceased to exist yesterday as Duke rectified its problem at a rigorous practice Saturday and consequently scored five goals on 22 shots against South Carolina.
In particular, junior forward Sarah Pickens shined against the Gamecocks, scoring two goals on six shot attempts and adding an assist to a first-half goal by freshman Gwendolyn Oxenham. And Pickens nearly was credited with another score near the end of yesterday's game, when she fired a shot that hit the right crossbar of the Oregon goalpost that was accidentally knocked in by an Oregon defender to give Duke its fifth goal of the game.
Pickens' goals were her fourth and fifth of the season, a vast improvement from her early-season goal scoring of a year ago. She attributes this development to a new mental attitude and arduous work ethic.
"I think a lot of it has to do with confidence," Pickens said. "I've also been working on my shot and placement over the summer and throughout this year."
In addition to Pickens' stellar play, the Blue Devils also received solid effort from Carly Fuller, who scored one-third of the way into Sunday's first half on a penalty kick, and Highsmith, who recorded Duke's lone goal on Friday and an assist yesterday.
Hempen was also pleased with the performance of defender Liz Wagner, a transfer from Minnesota who provided steady play throughout both games and saved Oregon from scoring a goal on a breakaway late in Friday's contest.
"Liz Wagner can play every minute of every game as far as I'm concerned," he said.
Another bright spot for the Blue Devils on defense was the play of goalkeepers Isis Dallis, who shutout the Ducks on Friday, and Thora Helgadottir, who held the Gamecocks to a single score yesterday. Hempen's decision to rotate the goalies paid off, and as a result, he plans to continue switching the two as long as both are performing well.
"We'll keep [rotating the goalies] for as long as possible," Hempen said. "Both games, we just decided to keep the keepers in, knowing the other was going to play the next day anyways."
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