This year's women's soccer team has the most diverse mix of talent in the program's history.
The team includes Iceland's Thora Helgadottir, the first foreign player to play for the Blue Devils; Gwendolyn Oxenham, Duke's first player to come out of high school early; and Liz Wagner and Sara Zielske, the first two players to transfer into coach Bill Hempen's program.
With seven freshmen on the squad as well, one might think that such a combination of players would spend a large chunk of the season simply learning to gel and play together. However, with a 7-0 record, the No. 8 Blue Devils are off to the best start in team history.
This weekend, Duke looks to stretch its win streak even further when it plays William & Mary and Texas Christian in the Duke-adidas Classic at Koskinen Stadium.
Assessing his team's primary strengths, Hempen applauded both his team's conditioning and its frame of mind.
"From a training [perspective], the players probably look forward to the games," Hempen said. "The competitive workouts almost frustrate [the players] because everyone's challenging each other so much. Right now the mental part of the game is as good as it's been."
With this degree of readiness both physically and psychologically, Duke appears primed to play some of its best soccer of the year against its two weekend foes.
Perhaps the most obvious strength of this year's Duke team is its depth. Nineteen Blue Devil women have played in at least four games, while only five Blue Devils have started all seven games.
Hempen's frequent substitutions have produced excellent results. In the first seven games, 10 different players have combined to score the team's 21 goals, and another five have also registered shots on goal.
Critics might point out that so many players making up the team's playing rotation could ultimately be a deterrent to the team's long-term success. Yet despite so few players playing in every game, Hempen is very confident in the leadership of his tri-captains: Kasey Truman, Alexis Highsmith and Alison Sanders.
This weekend, fans familiar with Duke's method of extensive substitution can expect a variety of player rotations, as Hempen will continue to use the flexible tactics that have produced seven straight wins.
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