Resting in the corner of head coach Kerstin Kimel’s desk is a statue of Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, the site of the 2005 women’s lacrosse Final Four.
The senior class gave Kimel and the other members of the coaching staff the models to symbolize the team’s goal of reaching Annapolis in late May.
“All the coaches have them, they’re sort of little desk ornaments,” said senior co-captain Stefanie Sparks, who coordinated the gifts. “Not even just to symbolize to get there, but to deserve and put in the effort that’s needed to get there, regardless of the result.”
Coming off a season when Duke won the ACC regular season title for the first time in its history, the Blue Devils have even loftier expectations this year.
Ranked fourth in the preseason poll, Duke welcomes 11 freshmen and will begin the season without any major injuries for the first time in three years.
“Our expectations are always high, I think we haven’t necessarily always met them,” Kimel said. “We have a lot more depth than we’ve had in the last two years. We have more kids that can contribute. We’re going to be very fast and athletic.”
Over the summer, Kimel and her staff decided to change the team’s offensive scheme. Duke implemented a motion offense that will continue to integrate a series of set plays.
Senior Kristy Dirks and junior Katie Chrest will provide the leadership for the revamped offense. Chrest, who was selected as one of the 24 members of the U.S. World Cup Training Team, is one of the top attacks in the country.
Kimel said Chrest’s experiences with the National Team have helped her elevate her game. Chrest led the team a year ago with 54 points and 43 goals.
“Our goal is to run an up-tempo offense, but one that also has the discipline to know when to turn that on and when to turn it off,” Kimel said.
Seniors Caline McHenry and Lane Fogarty both return this season after sitting out all of last year with injuries. The duo will add stability to a defense that lacked depth and did not perform as well as Kimel said she expects from her teams.
Even with the influx of so many new players and the return of those who were forced to the sidelines with injuries, this year’s team has gelled quickly during the short preseason, senior co-captain Katie Laschinger said. Kimel said her players have been forced to learn quickly, which she thinks will translate into a fast-paced style on the field.
Although the Blue Devils reached unprecedented success during the 2004 regular season, the memory of the teams’ final two losses—a 17-7 rout by Virginia in the ACC Championship final and a 13-12 overtime upset by Georgetown in the NCAA Tournament opener—still lingers in the players’ minds.
“It has definitely been a motivating factor, especially for our returning players,” Laschinger said. “Those two experiences really taught us a lot of lessons. We are going to do anything in our power to not repeat last year and learn from those mistakes and be a better team this year.”
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.