The Blue Devils expect more out of their star-studded offense.
After managing just one goal in its two games last weekend, No. 13 Duke (1-1) will look to jump-start its offense this weekend as it takes on Kennesaw State (1-1) Friday at 2:30 p.m. and New Mexico (1-1) Sunday at noon at the UNC Nike Classic in Chapel Hill this weekend.
“We work together well, but for our experience and the amount of time that we’ve had so far, it should be better, and it will get better,” redshirt senior captain Kim DeCesare said.
Last season, DeCesare and the Blue Devils opened the season on an offensive tear, scoring 12 goals in their first two games, and the scoring did not stop there. Duke ended its season with a program-record 207 points.
With seniors Laura Weinberg, Mollie Pathman and Kaitlyn Kerr and junior Kelly Cobb joining DeCesare in the attacking third, the Blue Devils brought back one of the nation’s most dangerous offenses on paper.
This past weekend, though, DeCesare was the only one to find the back netting, getting the game-winning goal Friday against then-No. 12 Texas A&M. After traveling to South Carolina for Sunday night, Duke struggled offensively, registering only four shots on goal for the game.
“There were a number of mistakes, and it led to the goal, and once they got the goal, they just put everybody behind the ball,” Blue Devil head coach Robbie Church said. “They were tough, tough to break down… and we made tired decisions.”
The Gamecocks' defensive tactics did the trick, shutting out the Blue Devils and holding on for a 1-0 victory.
“We still tried to force the ball down the middle when the space was out wide, and we should have worked outside-in and inside-out... instead of just trying to play down the middle,” DeCesare said. “That’s where they had all their numbers. They knew that from the beginning, and they scouted us very well, but we need to learn how to get around that.”
Church acknowledged that part of the offensive struggles so far come from the team’s need to focus on integrating a number of new players into Duke’s defense at this point in the season.
Losing three back-line starters and a goalkeeper to graduation this past spring, the Blue Devils have relied heavily on freshmen talent in the defensive third, including Christina Gibbons who has played all 180 minutes this season.
Because of the need to focus on the newcomers, the Duke coaching staff spent much of preseason on the defense.
“You have to pick and choose in the preseason what you’re going to coach,” Church said. “You have to coach one side of the ball, and we coached more on the defensive side because we lost so many defensive players, and this is the first week we’re really working totally on the offensive side.”
With a defense that has allowed just one goal—and that goal coming off a play where the Blue Devils’ most experienced defender was tripped up at the top of the 18-yard box—Duke can now afford to work on its attack more.
So far this week, the team has shifted its focus, running one-on-one drills and working on its shape, DeCesare said.
For a team that has dropped only one game since 2010 by more than a one-goal margin, getting on the board early will be of particular importance.
“The first goal is just crucial, especially when we play against ACC teams because one goal is going to make the difference,” DeCesare said. “You’re not going to win a game two- or three- nothing. It’s going to be a 1-0 game or a 2-1 game. So it’s going to be every single look at goal is precious.”
Although the Blue Devils will not have to face an ACC opponent nor a ranked opponent on its trip down Tobacco Road this weekend, they plan on taking the same one-goal difference mentality.
Sunday will be Duke’s first meeting with New Mexico.
The Blue Devils played Kennesaw State in the same tournament in 2004, getting by with a 1-0 win.
“We beat them 1-0 with a tough goal we got late in the match. They were tough. They were physical,” Church said. “Any time people come to play at Duke and Carolina in our tournament or their tournament, they’re going to be ready."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.