Friday night's contest against intra-state foe Davidson (0-0) ushers in the beginning of the Robbie Church era for the Duke women's soccer team (0-0).
Having seen the program's only coach Bill Hempen defect to Boulder, Church left his previous gig as the Vanderbilt head coach behind to fulfill the potential that the Blue Devils have never completely realized.
The feeling around the practice field is that Church brings a pleasant, yet no-nonsense approach to the game.
"He will tell you what he is thinking no matter what," freshman forward Lauren Simel said, sounding noticeably shocked after her first days playing collegiate ball. "It has definitely been a change because of its intensity."
Coaching style aside, Church's function is to lead this year's crop of players to victory, and Davidson should not pose a considerable problem in this area.
While the Wildcats return their six leading scorers from last season's squad, including single season goal and point record holder Heather Maloney, they lack depth from midfield on down.
"They did lose some players on defense, which should help us," Church said. "That will give us some good opportunities to put the ball in the net."
Davidson's travails start at goalie because not one of its three netminders on the roster has ever notched a single minute in a collegiate contest.
The Wildcat defenders, though having logged actual playing time, do not possess superior talent. With two of the team's best defenders gone from last season, converted senior midfielder Penn Graves becomes their best chance of stopping Duke's potentially explosive forwards.
Also, aside from Tara Maloney who enters her sophomore campaign off a surprisingly successful first year, the Wildcats' midfield possesses the problem of having a lot of bodies and fairly little talent.
Nevertheless, Davidson does bring an underdog mentality into Durham that may bolster their chances of making up for their talent deficiencies.
"They are a team that is simply looking to bring us down," sophomore forward Gwendolyn Oxenham said. "They will come out there hard, and with a lot of aggression and enthusiasm."
Duke should not be at a loss for intensity either as it looks to begin the Church era with a strong performance.
The Blue Devil's offense should capitalize upon Davidson's defensive weakness with their strong front line of senior Sarah Pickens, junior Alison Sanders and Oxenham. Those three nearly accounted for one half of Duke's offensive production last year, and they will most certainly have the opportunity to continue that trend against the Wildcat's Swiss cheese defense.
On the other end of Koskinen field, sophomore standout Thora Helgadottir will try to continue the success that she earned in her first campaign between the posts, while Duke's best defenders, junior Rebecca Smith and sophomore Kelly Harris, will attempt to keep Wildcat intruders at bay.
Surveying the whole scene from the Blue Devil sidelines, coach Church's primary responsibility on his first night in Duke blue will be to avert a potential season-opening disaster.
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