Taking a slew of injuries in stride, the Blue Devils are primed to test themselves against the country’s top talent before heading into conference play.
No. 12 Duke closes out its nonconference schedule with two games against top-10 opponents in three days, taking on No. 9 West Virginia and No. 2 UCLA as part of the Duke Nike Classic at Koskinen Stadium this weekend. Top-ranked North Carolina, the defending national champions, will round out the tournament’s field.
“This is the biggest women’s soccer tournament in the country this year, so all eyes will be here looking into this,” Blue Devil head coach Robbie Church said. “So as a great player, this is where you want to be.”
The Blue Devils (3-1) open with the Mountaineers (3-0-1) Friday at 6 p.m. and conclude the tournament with the Bruins (4-0) Sunday at 1 p.m. Duke will have to deal with a shorthanded roster in addition to two top-tier opponents after a number of key contributors went down with injuries last weekend at the UNC Nike Classic.
Duke opened its season having lost two starters to injuries in the spring, and the injury bug has shortened the team’s bench even more. Last week, redshirt junior Alex Straton was ruled out for the season when she underwent knee surgery.
In two victories last weekend, the Blue Devils suffered several other injuries, leaving junior defender Tabria Wiliford out for at least a week with concussion symptoms and freshman midfielder Rebecca Quinn sidelined for up to six weeks with a foot injury.
Wiliford and Quinn had each started every game prior to their injuries this year, leaving the Blue Devils with even more gaps to fill and more playing time for underclassmen. In the early-going, Church has been impressed by the play of his new class.
“We started five freshmen last game against New Mexico, and oh my gosh, for 25 minutes, we played as good soccer as we’ve played here in 13 years,” Church said. “These are very knowledgeable soccer players, very intelligent players—tactically and technically very equipped players.”
Freshmen defenders Christina Gibbons and Lizzy Raben have started every game so far this season—Gibbons has yet to be substituted out of a game. Classmates Malinda Allen, a defender, and Toni Payne, who splits time between forward and midfield, have each logged more than 200 minutes as well, fitting in immediately with the Duke upperclassmen.
“The freshmen have just come in and right from the bat just fit in so well,” midfielder Kaitlyn Kerr said. “I think that they’re true soccer players, as opposed to sometimes coaches recruit athletes. They know how to keep the ball, and they’re just a huge part of our success.”
The additional injuries though will force Church to shuffle his lineup even more.
“Because of these injuries, it’s had the domino effect on our team,” he said. “We’ve had to move players around in different positions.”
With the injury to Wiliford, senior Mollie Pathman will see more time in the back, a position she has played in the U.S. youth national system. The Blue Devils also benefit from having several players besides Pathman and Payne who have the versatility to play multiple positions on the field.
Last year, Kim DeCesare moved up from the midfield to the frontline and enjoyed great success from there, racking up 16 goals. Senior Natasha Anasi also has experience outside of her primary spot anchoring the backline. The 2011 MAC Hermann trophy finalist has grown into one of the nation’s premier defenders but played midfield until four games into her sophomore year and scored as a midfielder last weekend for Duke.
Anasi’s score has been one of only three goals in four games for the Blue Devils this season. In 2012, Duke opened the season with a scoring barrage, netting 14 goals in its first three contests.
With both West Virginia and UCLA averaging 2.5 goals per game headed into the weekend, Duke’s offense will likely need to step up its production.
Although the Blue Devils have not registered as many scores as their upcoming opponents, they have registered the most shots of the three teams. Kerr said she believes that it’s just a matter of getting the ball rolling.
“Once one goal comes, I think it’s just going to be a flurry of goals,” Kerr said. “Last year, you see we were scoring a lot more, but we weren’t defending as well. We had hardly any shutouts.”
This year, Duke has already recorded three, and Ali Kershner has become the program’s first goalkeeper to record shutouts in each of her first two starts.
Although the defense lacks experience, it has so far allowed just one goal and by virtue of its nonconference schedule will already have quite the resume going into ACC play.
If the defense can continue its strong performance, possessing the ball will translate into more offensive productions, Kerr said.
“We’re creating a lot of opportunities,” Church said. “We’ve got to be able to finish and break some team’s spirits, so it’s going to be a great test. I’m really looking forward to it and I know our kids will be up to the test. “
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.