Elisabeth Redmond came off the field midway through the second half to a well-deserved round of applause. After all, it's rare that a player puts up three goals in two games.
And for a team that struggled offensively early in the season, Duke (2-1-2) needed Redmond's production to spark scoring and wrap up a 3-1 win over Dartmouth (1-5) Sunday at Koskinen Stadium.
Although Redmond scored Duke's first goal within the game's opening seven minutes, head coach Robbie Church said the sophomore's premier play came as the clock wound down in the first period. With 2:53 left before halftime, Sheila Kramer passed the ball to the sophomore forward, who used her left foot to put it past Dartmouth goalie Laurel Peak and give the Blue Devils a 2-0 lead.
"That was a huge goal in the game, but it was also a big-time goal," Church said. "[Redmond] made a nice run up top. She got a good delivery of the ball. She finished it."
Although that goal may have been the most important of the game, the Blue Devils' most impressive score came with 27:40 left in the second half. Junior Kelly Hathorn passed the ball toward the Dartmouth cage from the outside, and sophomore Jane Alukonis headed the feed into the net to put the Blue Devils ahead 3-0.
"I was getting yelled at the whole game for not staying wide, so finally I stayed wide," said Hathorn, who had two assists to add to her team-leading tally. "For once, I actually saw someone who I wanted to kick it to. It was amazing-my eyes were huge like, 'Did that seriously just happen?'"
Between the six goals Duke scored Thursday against Elon and the three strikes Sunday over the Big Green, it's clear that the once-struggling Blue Devil offense has improved in its last two performances. Although Redmond said the whole team has been more focused offensively, it also helped that she was able to post goals early, giving the team an ease and a confidence that carried through the contest.
After Redmond buried the first goal, Duke never looked back.
"We had heard Dartmouth was a very hard-working team for 90 minutes, so it was really important for us to try and break [Dartmouth's] spirits as early as possible," Redmond said.
Dartmouth was forced to play the majority of the game defending against the Blue Devil attack, but the Big Green did manage to score on a penalty kick with 7:52 remaining in the second half. By that point though, the Blue Devils had secured the game's outcome. They outshot the visitors 17-6 and also held the advantage in corner kicks 8-3.
Overall, though, Church still thinks his team has even more room for improvement.
"It was a spotty game, but we were a little bit stronger than they were," he said. "It's the sign of a good team that wins when they don't play their top game."
The players, however, feel more confident after this weekend's games, Hathorn said. Church and the Blue Devils are hoping that swagger will translate into continued momentum on offense as the season rolls on.
"We talked so much about scoring goals, but it's more about playing hard," Church said. "It's more about doing the correct things then it is scoring goals. If we do the right things, we will score."
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