Last year, Duke lost two heartbreaking contests against Maryland, including a 12-11 defeat in the ACC championship game. After graduating seven seniors—including two All-Americans—the new-look, No. 5 Blue Devils (4-0) seem prepared to tackle the No. 2 Terrapins (2-0) in their ACC opener 12:00 p.m. Saturday at Koskinen Stadium.
Duke will rely heavily on its high-octane offense, which averages 17 goals per game. While senior All-American Lindsay Gilbride leads the Blue Devils with 17 points (10 goals and seven assists), juniors Christine Kaestner and Virginia Crotty, have assumed a much greater role in the Blue Devil attack this season. Together, the pair have combined for 16 goals and nine assists.
“Our unit is a little younger because we graduated a lot of fire power from that [senior] group,” head coach Kerstin Kimel said. “I’m very happy to see some of the younger kids step up and assume greater scoring roles.”
While Duke looks to continue its offensive prowess, the Blue Devils face a formidable challenge in Maryland’s All-American Caitlyn McFadden. In only two games, McFadden has tallied nine goals and five assists, continuing her historic 27-game scoring streak.
“Obviously McFadden is one of the best players in the country,” Kimel said. “We’re very familiar with her and she’s very familiar with us. We’re going to do our best as a unit to do a couple of things to make her life difficult on Saturday.”
Disrupting McFadden’s rhythm will be crucial to Duke’s success on Saturday, however, the Blue Devils cannot ignore the Terrapins other four returning All-Americans.
“The reality is if [McFadden] doesn’t score, Maryland’s got five or six other kids that can put the ball in the back of the net. You can’t just focus on one person with Maryland,” Kimel said. “You have to focus on their entire unit and try your best to prepare for their tendencies and limit some of their looks.”
In order to slow down the Maryland attack, Duke hopes for solid goaltending from sophomore Mollie Mackler, who is coming off a career-high 15-save performance in a 16-9 victory over No. 20 William & Mary.
“Mollie just had a day where she was seeing the ball and was able to make some really big stops for us. She’s a really athletic goalie and we know that she has the ability to play that way,” Kimel said.
Mackler, who last year watched senior goalie Kim Imbesi from the sidelines blocking shots in Duke’s two losses to Maryland from the sidelines, will now be in the fray and represents the change between this and last year’s squads.
Still, Kimel understands that Duke should not alter its approach to Maryland - the same strategy that almost won the Blue Devils an ACC Championship.
“We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel,” Kimel said. “[Last year], if we had just shot a little better and done other small things in [the championship] it would have made a difference and put us on the winning side.”
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