An offensive resurgence in the second half led to the field hockey team's (11-6) 4-1 victory over Appalachian State (4-13) yesterday. Duke netted three goals after entering halftime tied with the Mountaineers at one goal apiece.
"Our mistake was taking the first half too lightly," senior captain Sarah Wright said. "In the second half, we just shot the ball and got good corners. We played smarter overall."
The No. 12 Blue Devils started off the contest when junior Kim Van Kirk dribbled through a herd of Appalachian State defenders and drove a shot into the goal at the 14:15 mark. Van Kirk leads the team with 10 goals on the season.
The Mountaineers' Nara Brooks tied the game less than five minutes later by sneaking past a Duke defender and directing a shot into the back of the cage near the post, off a Bridgette Burkhardt pass. The Mountaineers, however, failed to get past Duke's freshman goalkeeper Christy Morgan the rest of the day. Burkhardt led Appalachian State with four assists.
"We didn't play the best we could have in the first half," senior captain Chrissy Ashley said. "We really stepped it up in the second. We focused on the simple things and increased the tempo and overall intensity. We came out with a win and that is what matters."
Duke dominated the second half with 17 shots, limiting Appalachian State to none. The Blue Devils notched 21 total shots for the game, while the Mountaineers' sole shot of the day came before halftime.
Just over a minute and a half after halftime, sophomore back Suzanne Simpson scored the go-ahead shot past Mountaineer goalkeeper Kate Ryno that eventually gave Duke the victory.
In a five-minute stretch, the Blue Devils earned six penalty corners, and went on to earn five more in the second half. They totaled 16 for the afternoon, while not allowing Appalachian State to gain a single one the entire game.
At the 60:58 mark, junior forward Stacey Tsougas scored to give Duke a 3-1 lead. The final score of the day came with Jessica Fluck's breakaway dive that redirected the ball into the top of the goal, with 36 seconds left in the game. Grant, credited with the assist, led the team with nine on the day.
"They were better than we thought they were going to be," Wright said. "One thing coach said was that we did not give them enough respect, which is true. We did not show that we needed to play to a certain level."
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