Although still a bit jet lagged and behind on work from their successful Hawaii trip, the No. 22 Blue Devils (4-2) are looking to carry the momentum back from the islands.
The Blue Devils square off against Georgia (2-1-2) and Furman (2-4) Friday and Sunday, respectively, in the 14th annual Duke/adidas Classic.
“We got better in Hawaii, and that’s what I’m excited about right now,” said head coach Robbie Church, whose team won a pair of games on the trip. “We’ve been practicing harder, and we’ve been playing harder in the games over longer periods of time.”
During the trip, the defensive unit showed noticeable improvement after a sluggish start to the season during a pair of losses.
“It’s been huge for us to just keep getting unified in the back, and this past weekend was just huge for us to get two shutouts,” junior back Heidi Hollenbeck said. “It builds our confidence, and our communication back there has really been improving too.”
Church, however, said his team cannot be overconfident if it wants to repeat last weekend’s performance against more formidable foes. Both games have huge postseason implications for the Blue Devils as they seek to solidify their out-of-conference record before the start of ACC play next Sunday against Wake Forest.
“These are big games. Both of these teams are in our South Region,” Church said. “They’ll both be teams that we’ll be going up against to get NCAA bids.”
Of particular concern to Church is the offensive style of the Bulldogs, who employ the same kind of aggressive attack scheme as Tennessee and Florida, teams that picked apart the Duke defense in games earlier this season.
“They’re a typical SEC team,” Church said. “They play really hard. They play a totally different style than us, so I think it’s going to be a mixture of styles.... Will it be a more indirect style, which is ours, or a more direct, physical style, [like Georgia’s]? Tennessee and Florida have given us hard times, so I’m excited to see if we can learn from [their] style and just let the ball move… and do the work.”
The Duke defense will be challenged by a pair of talented forwards, senior Tricia McKee and freshman Karen Zmirak, both of whom have netted three goals so far for Georgia.
Tactically, the Blue Devils will seek to counter the Bulldogs’ physical play by putting a priority on moving the ball around in the center of the field.
“We’ve concentrated a little bit more in pushing it up the middle,” sophomore forward Sarah McCabe said. “We’ve been pushing it wide a lot, and we’re trying to make all aspects of our game even.”
Overall, the Blue Devils are excited about their recent success and hope they have finally hit their stride.
“It’s not surprising to me that we’re continuing to get a lot better,” said Hollenbeck. “We all knew it from the beginning, and it was just a matter of getting together as a unit… and we’re clicking now.”
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