After missing all of last season with an injury, Emma Hamm wants to play in as many lacrosse games as she can.
Luckily, she’ll have two chances this weekend as No. 4 Duke (1-0) takes on Richmond Friday at 7 p.m. and William & Mary Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m., both at Koskinen Stadium.
In her first game back since suffering a torn ACL before the 2010 season, Hamm waited all of two minutes for her first goal in a season-opening 21-9 victory over Ohio State. Now the redshirt junior hopes that her momentum will carry over into this weekend’s slate of games.
“I’m excited to have two games in one weekend,” Hamm said. “My first game back was better than expected. I had been looking forward to it for over a year, and I had a great time. My teammates were very supportive of me.”
Hamm isn’t the only Duke player eager to make up for lost time, as several Blue Devils, including goalie Mollie Mackler, also missed significant time last year. Head coach Kerstin Kimel is again eager to show off Duke’s full arsenal of weapons this weekend.
“It is really nice to have Emma back on the field, and Mollie in the cage,” Kimel said. “Having them back gives us some depth, and that really helps us run and keep fresh legs on the field.”
The Spiders (0-1) have a few scoring weapons of their own, however, including the reigning A-10 player of the year, Mary Flowers. In Richmond’s first game against Maryland, Flowers was able to record a hat trick against the defending national champions.
“[Flowers] is a really nice player, she gets a lot done on the field,” Kimel said. “I think a big key for us will be trying to limit her touches on the ball and keep her busy elsewhere. We want to keep her on defense as much as possible.”
William & Mary (0-0) will open its season against Duke, giving the Blue Devils their first glimpse of the Tribe’s two All-Americans, defender Sarah Jonson and midfielder Grace Golden. Kimel knows her team can’t afford to overlook either squad in anticipation of its upcoming ACC games.
“Both opponents this weekend are great teams,” Kimel said. “They’re both athletic, very fast and can score goals in bunches. I think they’re great tests for us as we build towards playing our ACC schedule.”
If the Blue Devils can bring forth the same intensity to this weekend as they did to open the season, Kimel feels confident in her team’s abilities.
“We’re looking to try and sustain that physical and emotional level throughout the season,” the coach said. “We feel like that kind of consistent approach and performance to every game will only yield good results down the road.”
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