The Blue Devils had no difficulties routing Radford to advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Top-seeded Duke did not hold back any firepower as it outshot the Big South champion Highlanders 25-1 to win its opening match 5-0 at Koskinen Stadium Sunday, remaining undefeated at home this season.
In spite of Radford’s attempt to limit the Blue Devils’ scoring chances by playing a one-forward formation, Duke broke through early. Sophomore midfielder Kaitlyn Kerr received a through ball on the right side of the 18-yard box from junior defender Erin Koballa and dribbled toward the backline, chipping the ball over the Highlander goalkeeper to put the Blue Devils ahead.
“I just realized that they were bunkering in a lot,” Kerr said. “I’m a high center [midfielder], so I have to get forward earlier and quicker when they’re bunkering in.”
Toward the end of the first half, Duke’s offense struck again as senior forward Chelsea Canepa assisted two goals in a span of five minutes. First, she found a wide-open Kerr in the 18-yard box who scored for a second time. Moments later, Canepa set up another score for two first-year players in their first minutes of NCAA tournament action. She played a cross into Audrey Gibson, whose deflected header landed at the feet of Katie Trees. The freshman fired the ball into the net for her first career goal.
“[Trees] is definitely going to be a player to watch for in the future,” Canepa said. “She’s going to be on the end of many goals, and this is just one of many to come. So, it was good for her to get that goal now. That’ll build confidence for later games.”
Having scored just one first-half goal in its previous seven games, Duke entered Sunday’s match with an emphasis on avoiding slow starts. The Blue Devils dismissed any doubts about their ability to score early in games by taking a 3-0 halftime lead.
“We’ve been preparing for this game for over a week now, so we just wanted to take it to them as soon as we could.” Kerr said.
Duke’s continued dominance of possession kept the Highlanders from even attempting a shot until midway through the second period.
“We pressured them so that they couldn’t get a rhythm of play and they couldn’t play the balls into their players,” head coach Robbie Church said. “It made the job a little bit easier for our backs and our goalkeepers.”
Although Radford goalkeeper Che’ Brown came in after halftime as a substitute to make six saves, the Blue Devils made one final push to extend their lead by two.
Redshirt sophomore forward Callie Simpkins scored her second goal of the season off a corner kick from sophomore forward Mollie Pathman, and Canepa rounded out her stat sheet by putting in a goal of her own in the 88th minute.
“I think we learned from our [ACC tournament] loss against Wake Forest and came out with a different attitude,” freshman forward Kelly Cobb said. “We’re making a statement to the nation about what we’re coming to do in this tournament.”
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