Heading into ACC competition, the Blue Devils have to feel a little more comfortable about their biggest question mark heading into the season—goalkeeping.
With back-to-back nine save performances, sophomore Jamie Lockwood has been impressive to start the season after taking over for former All-American Kelsey Duryea.
But it will not get any easier for Lockwood, as No. 8 Duke will take on a high-octane attack in No. 11 Notre Dame Sunday at noon at Koskinen Stadium to open conference play. The Fighting Irish enter the contest averaging 17.6 goals per game, tops among teams that have played more than one game this season. Although Lockwood has posted consecutive confidence-building performances, she and the rest of the Blue Devil defense have not faced a team as good at finding the back of the net.
“We’ve been getting a progressively tougher opponent every week, and this week will be no different,” Duke head coach Kerstin Kimel said. “I expect Saturday to be a battle.”
In her most recent appearance against then-No. 12 Stanford Saturday, Lockwood kept the Blue Devils in front the entire game thanks in part to a few timely saves with the score knotted at 8 late in the contest before Duke broke through.
“It’s a mojo-momentum game,” Lockwood said. “Being able to have a few huge stops at the beginning of the game, I was able to be in the mindset I needed to be in for the rest of the game.”
After her first few tests, Duke’s starting netminder is boasting the 15th-best goals against average in the nation out of players who have appeared in more than one game, only surrendering 7.9 tallies per contest. Her success has come despite the absence of senior defender Isabelle Montagne, who is continuing to recover from a lower-body injury that kept her on the sidelines all fall.
Senior preseason All-American nominee Maura Schwitter has helped make up for Montagne’s absence, though, garnering ACC Defensive Player of the Week honors after shutting down Cardinal star Elizabeth Cusick Feb. 18.
But the Blue Devil defense will be tested against an offense far better than any of Duke’s previous opponents. Coming off an easy 16-7 victory against Elon Thursday, Notre Dame (5-1) has averaged more than 18 goals per game on its five game winning streak, including a 66-goal run over the course of only three games.
The Fighting Irish already boast six players with 10 or more points this season, and are led up front by All-American senior attack Cortney Fortunato—who leads the nation with 27 goals. Sophomore midfielder Samantha Lynch is not far behind her teammate with 17 tallies herself.
Although the Blue Devils (4-0) have not put up the gaudy numbers that the Fighting Irish have on offense, Duke’s attack has proven more than capable to keep pace Saturday. Despite going 18 minutes without registering a goal against Stanford, the Blue Devils were able to find the net when it counted, rattling off four straight goals to emerge victorious in Frisco, Texas.
Preseason All-American candidate and ACC offensive player of the week Maddie Crutchfield has led the charge for Duke, scoring a career-best five goals against the Cardinal and frequently creating scoring opportunities for her teammates.
The Blue Devils still need to work on their offensive efficiency, however. They have been plagued by offensive zone turnovers and have looked out of rhythm as they try to adjust to the introduction of the new 90-second shot clock. To keep Duke in the game, sophomore attack Olivia Jenner has starred at the draw, helping the Blue Devils average 7.75 draw controls per game, good for fifth-best in the nation.
“We’ve had a lot of focus on stick work. Notre Dame has a high-pressure defense,” Kimel said. “We don’t want to play into [turnovers]."
The Blue Devils will need to polish their offense to limit the high-octane Fighting Irish attack’s opportunities in what will be Duke’s inexperienced netminder’s most challenging opponent thus far.
“It’s going to be a great test for us,” Kimel said. “For both of us, it’s going to be a great opportunity to open the season and see where each other is.”
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.