The Blue Devils outmatched Western Carolina en route to a 1-0 victory Sunday. Their energy and focus, however, drained under the sweltering heat of the afternoon sun in their second game of a three-day span.
"It's our first Sunday game," senior forward Sarah McCabe said. "It's no secret to anyone that Sunday games are a little more difficult. It was really hot, and it was our second one in three days. But I think we did a great job playing with no excuses, which is one of the staples of our team this year."
No. 12 Duke's (2-0) shutout win over Western Carolina (0-2) followed on the heels of a 3-1 victory against St. Louis (0-1) Friday night.
Sunday, the Blue Devils attacked the Catamounts' net early. Western Carolina countered by overloading its defense, but McCabe managed two early shots-one of which was from the top of the box and curved into the chest of the opposing goalkeeper Alesha Row.
McCabe finally broke the scoreless tie when she received a crisp cross from senior midfielder Rebecca Moros just inside the box. She deftly handled the pass and fired a goal into the left side of the net for Duke's first and lone goal of the game with 22:43 left in the half.
"Rebecca Moros played me an absolutely great ball," McCabe said. "Basically, I had five seconds at the top of the box, which never happens."
The elation of the first goal quickly dissipated as head coach Robbie Church became frustrated with his team's slow and unfocused play at the end of the half. When the Blue Devils were unable to clear the ball out of their defensive end and were forced to boot it out of bounds with 13:25 left, Church stormed off the bench. He marched down the sideline and stood still as he gave his defense a frustrated glare.
"I was really disappointed, after we scored the first goal, in the last 10 to 15 minutes of the first half," Church said. "I thought we quit playing. Our expectations are very high. I think we've got to make sure we stay a little more focused."
Following halftime, Duke's pace of play and aggressiveness elevated. The ball remained in the Catamounts' defensive zone for most of the half, and the Blue Devils had numerous cracks on goal.
Although the Blue Devils were unable to find the back of the net again, they fired 13 shots in the second half, seven of which were on goal.
Duke had a flurry of opportunities late in the period, beginning with a cross from sophomore forward Christie McDonald to freshman forward KayAnne Gummersall, who missed a shot wide left. Senior midfielder Darby Kroyer and freshman forward Elisabeth Redmond followed Gummersall's attempt with two shots from outside the box that Row scrambled to save.
The productivity of the freshmen was not isolated to the Western Carolina match. In Duke's game against St. Louis, Gummersall and Redmond combined for two of the team's three goals in the game.
Gummersall scored the first goal of the game when she nailed a shot from 25 yards out with 33:22 left.
"Obviously scoring in my first game was an absolutely amazing feeling," Gummersall said. "That's what I've been dreaming of since I was a little girl."
The Billikens tied the game early in the second half, but later goals from Redmond and Moros sealed the 3-1 win.
Duke travels next weekend for matches against Connecticut and Yale, which knocked the Blue Devils out of the NCAA tournament last season.
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