After three grueling games on the road to start the season, the Duke women's soccer team returns home this weekend-well, sort of.
The No. 18 Blue Devils (3-0, 1-0 in the ACC) will compete as the home team in both of their games in the Nike Carolina Classic, facing Oregon (2-3) tonight at 7 p.m. and South Carolina (0-3) Sunday at 1 p.m. However, Duke will have to make the short drive to Chapel Hill, as the Classic takes place at UNC's Fetzer Field.
Nonetheless, Blue Devil coach Bill Hempen believes that his team will retain the so-called "home field advantage," even though its matches are not being played at Koskinen Stadium.
"I look at it as a home game, although I don't think that my administrators look at it that way," Hempen said. "We don't play a great deal of home games, so I count these as 'close-by games' for people to come see our kids play."
While the Blue Devils are glad that the commute to Chapel Hill doesn't consist of all the rigors that one would normally associate with traveling to road games, in many respects, they will be a little sad to play on friendly turf, as they have won all three of their games this season away from home.
They were especially happy after their wins last weekend against Maryland and Richmond, two teams who have presented difficulties for Duke in the past.
"We were very excited," freshman forward Gwendolyn Oxenham said. "We worked hard and came together as a team and we're proud of that."
Part of this coming-together process has resulted in a very different chemistry from last year's squad, which was dominated by leading scorer Sherrill Kester (who has now graduated) and currently-injured senior Kasey Truman.
This year's edition has featured strong performances from both upperclassmen, like junior forward Sarah Pickens, who has scored in all three contests, and newcomers like Oxenham, who has already notched two goals on the season.
And this blend has been especially noticeable at the goalie position, where senior Isis Dallis has platooned with Icelandic freshman keeper Thora Helgadottir. The two split time in Duke's game against Maryland last Friday and Helgadottir made her first career start two days later at Richmond.
While Helgadottir, who has not given up any goals yet this season, has challenged the seasoned veteran for playing time, Hempen insists that there is no controversy among the two.
"Isis is definitely going to start [tonight] and Thora is going to start on Sunday. We've spoken with them and they understand that," Hempen said. "They're both quality goalkeepers and they both deserve to play."
Hempen's decision to split time between his goalies is just one component of a larger process of strengthening Duke's defense, an objective that the Blue Devils have been focusing on throughout much of the preseason and early part of the regular season.
"If you organized defensively you can win," Hempen said. "We just want to make sure we leave no stone unturned as far as making sure everybody understands their job all the time."
The likelihood of Duke's efforts paying off this weekend are quite high, as it faces two teams, Oregon and South Carolina, who have gotten off to mediocre starts this season.
Hempen, though, believes that both games could be difficult because each team possesses certain strengths despite their poor records.
Oregon, for one, will likely employ a similar strategy to that of No. 1 North Carolina, as all of its coaching staff is comprised of converts from the Tar Heel program.
"Anytime you play against a team that has a former assistant coach at UNC as its coach, you have to be leery and prepared to combat a direct team," Hempen said. "They've given up some goals, so I'm sure they're organizing their defense and I know that they're going to be a very straightforward, run-at-you type of team. Those are some of the things we're going to have to prepare for."
And Hempen also expects a serious challenge from South Carolina, a perennial SEC contender that has started off its season in a disappointing fashion.
"Everybody's going to take a hit sooner or later and it looks like they've taken their [hit] early," Hempen said. "Sue Kelly is a good coach and she's going to have her team ready to do battle against a Carolina team and a Duke team that certainly wants to defend their turf as well."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.