Following a dominant 25-3 win over Bucknell this past weekend, No. 5 Duke is feeling confident and ready to take on William & Mary today in Williamsburg, Va at 3 p.m.
The No. 4 Blue Devils (1-0) will face the Tribe at Albert-Daly Field at Martin Family Stadium in the 16th meeting between the two teams. Duke looks to win its 13th consecutive game in the series.
The team hopes to continue building its offensive line, which is fielded largely by underclassmen with a few veterans anchoring the attack.
“We’re definitely expecting some good competition and a solid defensive performance, and hopefully we’ll be having another breakout game for our attack,” redshirt senior attacker Emma Hamm said. “I think the offense has really started to find our chemistry, and I look forward to molding it some more.”
In the Blue Devils’ season opener, Hamm notched one goal and one assist, as well as winning three draw controls while notching a program single-game record for assists.
Development of the offensive line is still not quite finished, though, Hamm said, and the team has much to improve on to be the team they want to be in May.
“It’s definitely going to be a process, and I think that we’ve been working on rotating a lot of people in and out, and our balance of fresh faces has been good,” Hamm said. “But we definitely have a lot of room for growth.”
Key to today’s match against the Tribe is staying ready on the offense and being prepared to battle a veteran, physical team.
William & Mary returns five of its eight top scorers from last season, losing only two seniors—both All-Americans—in the midfield and defense.
“They’re usually aggressive and physical on the draw, so I think we’re going to have to work on boxing out and working together to control the draw,” Hamm said. “I’m looking forward to working on our ground balls and battling in 50-50 competitions in order to maintain possession.”
To Duke’s advantage is the fact that they already have one game under their belt, while today’s contest is William & Mary’s season opener. And if numbers are any indication, the Blue Devils should cruise, as the last time Duke lost to an unranked opponent was in March of 1997.
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