They came. They saw. They conquered.
That’s really all that could be said about the No. 15 Duke University field hockey team this weekend. Two games in Boston, two wins against quality, nationally ranked opponents.
And probably the sweetest part of that ride home to North Carolina is that the only place the Blue Devils dominated all weekend was on the scoreboard. Outplayed on Friday night against No. 10 Boston College, Duke showed up on Sunday for a neutral site contest with No. 15 Boston University and was dominated yet again by a Boston foe.
Although the Blue Devils came out on the winning end in both 3-2 games, both Boston opponents outplayed them all weekend.
The Terriers showcased their transition offense this weekend, scoring six goals over the two games while allowing just four. And when it came to applying pressure, the BU offense has not been better this season. The Terriers ripped 21 shots at Duke goalie Caitlin Williams, including 14 in the second half alone.
Sunday’s performance was just a microcosm of what the Terrier offense has been building toward all season long.
“I think we definitely had some great opportunities offensively,” said BU coach Sally Starr. “We could have easily scored four, five or even six goals [Sunday] and I think that’s an area that we can still improve on. That we will improve on, but obviously we’re creating great scoring opportunities.”
On Sunday alone, Terrier forwards Sarah Shute, Hadley Adams, Hayley Hamada and Gabby Hajjar combined for 11 shots — six of them by Shute. Add senior midfielder Pam Spuehler to that mix and the Terrier offense really begins to click.
Spuehler, Shute, Hamada, Adams and Hajjar are crowding the top of the Terrier statistics this season. Those five have combined for 75 of the team’s 97 total points — and there’s still a lot of field hockey to be played.
To put those numbers in perspective, consider the fact that throughout the entire 2006 season, the Terriers put up 152 total points as a team. Now, just halfway through the 2007 campaign, they are nearly two-thirds of the way to that total.
This season, the offense just keeps on coming. There are no new faces on the Terrier offense this season and the Terriers are filled with veterans in almost every position. Experience breeds familiarity and that familiarity is evident in their play.
But aside from the numbers, the exceptional team defense has elevated the Terriers to another level this season. Starr’s focus on improving transitional play has already seemed to pay off.
By improving their transition defense, the Terriers have been putting themselves in better position when the ball gets turned over and into the offensive end.
After the game, Starr explained that that seamless transition comes directly from heightened instincts.
“I think they were anticipating very well,” Starr said. “They needed to be back defensively, particularly Sarah Shute, but you don’t want that to take you out of your attacking scheme and they did it beautifully.
“They did what we needed them to do defensively to neutralize [Duke’s] backs attacking and being dangerous,” she added. “But they anticipated the moment of transition and they really broke early, broke hard, and you could see the team speed that we had and we were really able to get in behind them and be very attacking, which is awesome.”
