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02-04-2016, 10:34 AM
The Duke women, coming off a Final Four appearance in 2015, open the 2016 season against Campbell at 4:00 p.m. at Koskinen.
The team lost something like 70 percent of its scoring to graduation, but there is no shortage of weaponry, with sophomores Kyra Harney and Maddie Crutchfield and seniors Maddy Acton and Kelci Smesko (back from a hip injury that erased her 2015 season) leading the way. Freshmen Olivia Jenner, a 50-goal scorer as a senior at McDonough (Baltimore, MD), and Ellie Majure, the Washington Post all-Met player of the year from St. Stephen's & St. Agnes (Alexandria, VA) are expected to contribute immediately.
Last season's starting back five--goaltender Kelsey Duryea and defenders Izzy Montaigne, Claire Scarrone, Maura Schwitter, and Devon Russell--returns intact, so expect Duke to be stingy on defense.
The Camels, a fourth-year program that went 5-13 last year, may not provide a tough test, but the schedule gets crazy after that. Pre-season number five Northwestern comes to town on Sunday. After that, the Blue Devils face Navy, USC, Elon, and Penn before ACC play starts against VaTech on March 5.
The team lost something like 70 percent of its scoring to graduation, but there is no shortage of weaponry, with sophomores Kyra Harney and Maddie Crutchfield and seniors Maddy Acton and Kelci Smesko (back from a hip injury that erased her 2015 season) leading the way. Freshmen Olivia Jenner, a 50-goal scorer as a senior at McDonough (Baltimore, MD), and Ellie Majure, the Washington Post all-Met player of the year from St. Stephen's & St. Agnes (Alexandria, VA) are expected to contribute immediately.
Last season's starting back five--goaltender Kelsey Duryea and defenders Izzy Montaigne, Claire Scarrone, Maura Schwitter, and Devon Russell--returns intact, so expect Duke to be stingy on defense.
The Camels, a fourth-year program that went 5-13 last year, may not provide a tough test, but the schedule gets crazy after that. Pre-season number five Northwestern comes to town on Sunday. After that, the Blue Devils face Navy, USC, Elon, and Penn before ACC play starts against VaTech on March 5.