Some of the best women’s soccer programs in the country will showcase their skills on Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill this weekend, and Duke (1-1) considers itself one of them.
Friday night the No. 18 Blue Devils will square off against Kennesaw State (2-0), last year’s Division II champions, at 5 p.m. Since winning their national title, the Owls have made the transition to Division I. Then Duke will challenge 10th-ranked Florida (2-0) Sunday afternoon, hoping for their first upset win of the season after the stunning collapse last weekend against Tennessee.
Because both of these teams are in the Blue Devils’ geographic region, the games in this year’s Nike Carolina Classic could have an impact on Duke’s postseason prospects.
“It’s really important to win these games for the postseason play,” sophomore Sarah McCabe said. “Last year we had the record to stay home [in the playoffs] but we ended up getting sent away and I think it was a big factor. Texas A & M had an unbelievable crowd.”
After a quick start to her season, McCabe, who scored twice last weekend, will be an important part of the Duke attack this weekend. Tied with McCabe for second in the ACC in scoring, sophomore midfielder Darby Kroyer has added a goal in each of Duke’s first two games.
Third team All-American Kate Seibert leads the ACC with three assists; but with a pulled quad, she will be out of action Friday night. Her status for Sunday’s game is questionable.
Freshman Allison Lipsher and senior Katie Straka continue to battle for the starting spot in goal, and both will likely see considerable action in the two games in Chapel Hill.
Although the team is aware of the imminent challenge that Florida will pose Sunday, Thursday’s practice was spent preparing for the Owls, who have posted a 43-1-1 record in Division II the last two years.
“We’re putting most of our focus on Kennesaw State because they’re a very dangerous team,” head coach Robbie Church said. “They’re Division II national champions.... They know how to win.”
Despite the Owls’ recent success, Church believes the Blue Devils’ superior talent should be able to carry them to victory as long as they focus on attacking the goal and being aggressive getting to loose balls on defense. Kennesaw State plays a patient defense and looks to score quickly off the counter-attack.
“We have to get through Kennesaw State before we start making preparations for Florida,” McCabe said. “But it’s in the back of everyone’s head. It’s definitely a big game.”
The Gators play a very aggressive and fast-paced style, which Duke will get a good look at Friday night when it scouts Florida as the Gators take on the nation’s best team, North Carolina.
“They’re a typical Florida team—they’re a great team,” Church said. “They’re very athletic, they’re very physical, they like to go forward, and they’re very fast. They propose a great challenge to anybody.”
The last time that Duke and Florida met was two years ago when senior Casey McCluskey scored the Blue Devils’ only two goals, one of which came just a few minutes into the overtime period, to upset a heavily favored Gator squad.
After Duke’s heartbreak at Tennessee week ago, this weekend provides yet another opportunity for Duke to prove that this team should be considered among the nation’s elite.
“We have to go in with the mindset to take it at them, rather than that they are so much better than us,” Kroyer said. “We can be just as good as them if we play our game.”
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