The women's soccer team achieved mixed results in this weekend's Nike Carolina Classic, losing Friday evening's opener 5-1 to No. 8 Penn State, but then rebounding with a 1-0 victory over UNC-Charlotte.
Both games featured one team with a clear athletic superiority over the other. On Friday, the taller, faster Nittany Lions showcased their physical edge by outshooting the Blue Devils 20-5, and controlling the flow of play.
Penn State junior Christine Welsh scored three goals and added an assist. When asked to pick the contest's deciding factor, she immediately pointed to her team's athleticism, which she said compensated for early organizational confusion.
"I think our athletic ability is what got us through the first half, to be honest," the 5-foot-10 Welsh said. "I don't think we played very well [as a team], but our athletic ability helped us in the beginning."
Duke coach Robbie Church reiterated the assessment of Penn State's marquee player.
"They're bigger, stronger and quicker than we are," Church said. "We trained during the week to [compensate] for that, but we did not do a good job executing."
The absence of Thora Helgadottir--Duke's usual starting goalkeeper--further hindered the Blue Devils. An Iceland native, Helgadottir returned to her home country to play for her national team. Thus,
"Katie did as well as she can," Church said. "It was a tough situation to put her in."
Brigid Bowdell and Sarah Pickens combined on Duke's lone goal. Bowdell, an early substitution in the first half, split two Penn State defenders and fired a shot on net. After deflecting off the foot of a Nittany Lion and the left goal post, the ball landed next to Pickens, who buried it past goalkeeper Emily Oleksiuk.
Pickens' goal at 17:42 temporarily knotted the game at 1-1. However, Duke could not remain close, as Penn State added three more first half tallies to put the game out of reach.
Unfortunately for Duke, in addition to losing the game, the Blue Devils also lost Pickens--last season's leading scorer--to injury. The junior suffered a bone bruise to her left knee, and will likely miss several games.
The Blue Devils returned to Fetzer Field Sunday, and experienced a reversal of roles. Duke (2-2) outshot UNCC (0-2-1) 19-4, and utilized superior conditioning to snap a two-game losing streak.
"I thought we were a lot more fit than they were, because of our preseason training," Duke freshman Casey McCluskey said. "We were waiting for them to crack."
Despite a clear edge in time of possession and scoring opportunities, the Blue Devils couldn't convert until the game's 67th minute. McCluskey broke the tie by firing a laser beam past 49er goaltender Jenn Howell into the net's lower right hand corner.
Filling in for the injured Pickens, McCluskey performed exceptionally well. In addition to scoring the game-winning goal, the freshman also blasted a first-half shot off the cross bar, and regularly knifed through Charlotte defenders.
"It was really fun to be out there," McCluskey said. "That was my first goal, so it was really exciting."
McCluskey teamed with sophomore Gwendolyn Oxenham to generate several excellent chances. The duo clicked particularly well in the second half. McCluskey's performance, in particular, elicited high praise from her coach.
"Casey's got a load of talent, especially offensively," Church said. "She can slice people. She can strike a ball; she's very dangerous."
Oxenham dominated at times on the wing, beating multiple defenders off the dribble and repeatedly setting up her teammates with excellent crosses. The sophomore is still adjusting to her position as left midfielder, a role in which her team desperately needs her to excel.
"We've been taking the ball too many times down the middle of the field," Church said. "We've got to get the ball to the flank, [where] we've got players who can beat opponents one-on-one.
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