After struggling to score in their first four games, the Blue Devil offense finally found its groove last weekend, recording nine goals in wins over Elon and Dartmouth.
How many goals Duke tallied, however, seems almost secondary to how quickly the team was able to score.
The Blue Devils got on the board in the 11th minute of a 6-0 win over the Phoenix Sept. 13, and struck in the seventh minute of their 3-1 victory over Dartmouth Sunday.
"One of the biggest things is just making sure that we score the first goal and that we score it early," forward Kelly Hathorn said. "It's been a long time coming. We've had a lot of chances, and we've been doing things right."
The junior, who collected four assists and her first career goal over the weekend, said the early goals in those two games instilled confidence in both the offense and the defense. Now, the team looks to carry its newly-found swagger into this weekend's Duke Classic.
The Blue Devils face off against San Francisco (0-3-2) tonight at 7:30 p.m. in Koskinen Stadium. The Classic's other two participants, ACC-foe No. 8 North Carolina (4-2-0) and Big Ten stalwart Ohio State (6-1-0), square off to open tonight's double bill at 5 p.m.
For Duke to notch its third straight win, the team needs to maintain its offensive consistency. In practice this week, the Blue Devils worked on short-field drills designed to maximize their efficiency when they get opportunities in the box. Head coach Robbie Church said the results of the team's hard practices have started to show in games and that last weekend's scoring explosion came as no surprise.
"We were doing a lot of really good things in training," Church said. "We knew the goals were coming. The kids believed-they never lost belief, and they just kept working hard."
Duke looks to draw from its recent efforts again tonight when it squares off against the Dons, whose traditional West Coast Conference competition includes top-five programs in Portland and Santa Clara, as well as Pepperdine and San Diego-both of whom Duke fought to a scoreless draw earlier this season.
Although the offense has been garnering most of the attention recently, the dependable Blue Devil defense maintained its steely play against Elon and Dartmouth with two more rock-solid performances. Duke has allowed just three goals on the year, but the back four recognize their task becomes much easier when their offensive counterparts post an early lead.
"It's a huge help any time we have offensive pressure down on the other end," said defender Christie McDonald. "Basically, it's only our job not to lose the game now."
Both goal production and defensive tenacity will be essential as the Blue Devils seek to improve upon their impressive 21-9-2 all-time Classic record. Church takes pride in his young team's vast improvement just six games into the season, and he sees the Classic as a golden opportunity for his players to fine tune their play.
"We've gotten better every weekend," Church said. "That's the exciting part for the coaches and for the players."
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