The more you know: Duke women's soccer snaps winless streak, but continues to struggle scoring

Duke women’s soccer has not lived up to preseason expectations, as it has slid to a 6-6-3 record, with a losing record in the ACC. The Blue Zone takes a closer look at the Blue Devils’ fall from a top 5 team to an unranked side, and hopes to help find some answers after their Sunday 4-0  loss to No. 1 Florida State:

On Thursday evening, the Blue Devils emerged from Blacksburg, Va. with a 1-0 victory against Virginia Tech. This triumph prevented what would have been a record-breaking seven-game winless streak, a lengthy skid which is a testament to the late season woes that have plagued this Duke team. Be it a lack of production in the attacking third or costly injuries, there have been struggles aplenty for this squad. With only two fixtures remaining, it will be hoping to finish the season strong ahead of any tournament play. 

Key players sidelined

Over the past six games, Duke has not fielded its desired starting 11 in even one of them, with injuries and illness keeping several important players off the roster. This severely stifled the Blue Devil offense, with sophomore midfielder Carina Lageyre and senior forward Grace Watkins both missing games in this stretch. This could go a long way in explaining their recent offensive form, as it is clear that the team sorely missed their presence. 

Not finding the back of the net

Put simply, Duke will need to ramp up its offensive production if the team wishes for a late climb in the rankings. Entering Sunday’s match against the Seminoles, it ranked 233rd in goals per game, having only tallied 15 total scores through 14 games. Seven of these strikes have been by sophomore forward Kat Rader, whose additional two assists have seen her account for over half of the Blue Devil offense this season. Even with this monstrous individual production, the attack as a whole has not been on for Duke.

This was especially apparent during the aforementioned winless streak, during which the Blue Devils notched only four goals through six games. A stout Duke defensive unit managed to keep these games competitive — none were decided by more than one goal — but the onus ultimately fell on the attackers, who were unable to put those games away. The lack of production ultimately boils down to a lack of goal scoring opportunities created, a reality highlighted by a glaring lack of shots on goal. From their loss to Notre Dame until their win over the Hokies, the Blue Devils only logged 17 shots on goal — less than three per game. As such, it is unsurprising that this stretch yielded a comparative lack of goals from the team. 

At its core, Duke’s winless streak was a result of a lack of offensive production. Even so, things are trending in the right direction. In their recent win against Virginia Tech, the Blue Devils put six shots on net, nearly doubling the above average from their previous six games. Duke will undoubtedly be hoping for a further increase as the team competes in its season finale against Louisville.