After being tested by a force to be reckoned with in Georgetown, the Blue Devils should be able to create more open shots when they return to Durham.
Duke will take on the Phoenix at Koskinen Stadium Sunday at 6 p.m. The Blue Devils' lack of experience was felt in its scoreless draw with the Hoyas Thursday and 2-1 loss to Illinois last week, as the midfield had problems consistently taking care of the ball. However, in Sunday’s matchup against the Phoenix, that lack of experience will be matched by an Elon squad which started seven freshmen and sophomores in its last game against Western Carolina.
“In the past when we had a veteran team the last two or three years, our lineup pretty much stayed almost 80 to 90 percent the same almost every game, game in and out,” head coach Robbie Church said. “This year, you’re going to see different changes...a lot of the sophomores that start didn’t play much last year, and they’re basically like freshmen this year too.”
One of Duke’s sophomores that has looked like a veteran in most instances so far is goalkeeper Brooke Heinsohn, who had a career game against Georgetown with 10 saves and could make an impact when Duke (1-1-1) plays Elon. Heinsohn played and learned behind Duke alumnae EJ Proctor last season, but has since stepped into a leadership role as one of the more talented players on the Blue Devils' roster.
“This year I feel so much more comfortable talking to some of my teammates and getting on them a little bit more,” Heinsohn said. “I think that my leadership role has kind of come into play a little bit more and that I can bring more things out of people.”
The Norfolk, Mass., native will try to repeat her Georgetown performance against the Phoenix (1-0-2), who already have four different players with goals for the season. Duke will have to focus in on junior Taylor Paradoski, in particular, who completed a hat trick in Elon’s 5-4 victory against Liberty.
Senior forward Kayla McCoy’s leadership role has also increased since last year, as she is now one of the main scoring options for the Blue Devils' offense along with senior Taylor Racioppi, who has two goals for herself already this season. Elon’s defense has yet to be tested by a nationally-ranked offense, and with a first-year starter in sophomore Valentina Estrada at goalkeeper for the Phoenix, Racioppi and McCoy should have ample opportunities to exploit Elon’s young backline.
Church has stressed the importance of playing aggressively for the whole 90 minutes of every game. He expressed his happiness with how hard his players fought against the Hoyas—the level of intensity they showed is something Church hopes they can sustain throughout the season.
“We look for that aggressiveness to be at the very beginning of the game, but we’re still learning. This is a young team,” Church said. “For them to play at this level for 90 minutes and play as hard as we need to play, it’s going to take some learning. We’re going to have to put them out there and they’re going to have to learn. If they don’t play that hard, then we’re going to have to pull them and get somebody else out there.”
The Blue Devils will try to play with purpose in order to come away with their second win of the young season against Elon, a team that does not have the elite defensive pedigree that stumped Duke’s offense against the Hoyas.
“Obviously we’re nowhere near our potential and every game is a learning game for this team,” Church said after the Georgetown matchup. “We go home and play a team that’s not a nationally-ranked team, but we've got to come play like we did today.”
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