After a heartbreaking loss to Miami Thursday in which the Blue Devils surrendered two goals in the final two minutes, Duke returned to form Sunday with the help of an unexpected source of inspiration—Mia Hamm.
The all-time leading scorer in American national team history made an appearance at Duke’s practice Friday at the request of her former teammate and current Blue Devil assistant coach Carla Overbeck. Hamm’s motivational words helped a Duke team itching to find the back of the net rediscover its scoring touch in a 4-1 win over Clemson (5-8, 0-5 in the ACC) Sunday at Koskinen Stadium.
“That was really inspirational,” freshman forward Mollie Pathman said. “[Hamm] talked to us about how she had struggled during some points of her career just not finishing, and that’s kind of what our team was doing so it was great for us to come out and score four goals. It really is a confidence booster.”
Pathman appeared to be the prime beneficiary of Hamm’s pep talk, tallying two second-half goals after the Tigers had pulled within one score. It was the first time Pathman had scored since Sept. 19 against Middle Tennessee—which was also the last time Duke (7-4-3, 1-3-1) had won a game.
The Blue Devil attack as a whole appeared rejuvenated by a new formation, as head coach Robbie Church switched the team from a 4-4-2 to a 4-3-3 to get more players involved in the final third.
The change worked well. Duke repeatedly peppered Clemson goalkeeper Morgan Hert, attempting 30 shots on the game and earning 13 corner kicks in the process. In the 23rd minute, freshman Gilda Doria delivered a corner into the box right onto fellow freshman Laura Weinberg’s head, who cashed in for the first score of the game.
That goal snapped a 231-minute scoreless drought for the Duke offense.
“It was great to see the first goal go in,” Church said. “We’ve been playing hard, we’ve been training hard, but it’s so nice to see them get a reward for their hard work.”
The Blue Devils would continue to reap the rewards of their effort as the game continued. Redshirt-freshman Kim DeCesare headed in the second goal on a long free kick from center back Ashley Rape, and Pathman put the finishing touches on the afternoon.
The highlight of the game was Pathman’s second strike in the 84th minute. The freshman forward delivered an inswinger on a corner kick that deflected right off Hert’s hands into the back of the net to secure the three-goal win.
“I didn’t really mean to do that, to be honest,” Pathman said. “But we just bend it in there and hope someone gets a touch on it. That’s what’s so dangerous about corners.”
The victory could not have come at a better time for the Blue Devils. With half of the ACC schedule complete and Duke currently not in position to qualify for the conference tournament, the team desperately needed a win before two tough road contests against No. 9 Virginia and Virginia Tech this weekend.
“It was a big win for us,” senior captain Molly Lester said. “To get these three points was crucial. We’re now on an upswing and looking forward to the next couple of games.”
Margie Truwit contributed reporting.
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