USL Feature
Thursday, December 1, 2011
By NICHOLAS MURRAY
Back at the NCAA Women’s College Cup for the first time since 1992, Duke and standout sophomore midfielder Mollie Pathman are definitely where they expected to be.
Now the only question that remains is whether the Blue Devils can claim their first national championship.
“I remember from the time I was recruited,” Pathman said by phone this week, “[Coach] Robbie [Church] walked me around the Duke field and showed me the banners of all the teams, Men’s Lacrosse, Men’s Soccer, how they had their national championships, and he said ‘we need to get one of these’. I think everyone’s had similar experiences, and it’s why we all came to Duke. We’re here for school, we’re here for soccer, but that overall goal is to help Duke win a national championship.”
Growing up in Durham, N.C., staying in her hometown and helping a program that had come close to a return to the College Cup in 2007 and 2008, falling in the Elite Eight both times, was a logical choice for Pathman. A fixture in U.S. Youth national teams since the U14 level, the creative midfielder was boosted in her development by playing alongside older teammates.
A standout in the USL Super-20 League, where she was named the 2008 Tournament MVP for Triangle F.C., Pathman also competed in the USL W-League when she was still in high school, getting a feel for the next level of the game against players who were already in college for the Cary Lady Clarets.
“I think it is a great league,” Pathman said. “Obviously playing for Cary, I was in high school playing with college players, the best in the area. It was just a different environment, a whole other level that you can’t get anywhere else, especially during the summer.”
Pathman’s international experience obviously played a role, to where she was the second-leading scorer for the Blue Devils as a freshman. This season, she leads the team in assists with 11, a key cog in Duke’s attack. But according the Pathman, the key for the team’s success this season, and the reason they are in Kennesaw, Ga. this weekend, has been its versatility.
“We’ve had goals from everyone coming out this season,” Pathman said. “Starters, non-starters, through all of this as a team we don’t really have that many superstars, and I think that really helps us.”
The Blue Devils will face a familiar opponent on Friday in the semifinals when they take on fellow ACC side Wake Forest. The two teams have already split a pair of meetings this season, Duke winning in the regular season and the Demon Deacons in the ACC Tournament semifinals. That competitiveness within the conference, which also boasts Florida State at the College Cup and saw nine teams included in the 64-team field, is one of the reasons Pathman believes the Blue Devils were prepared for the challenges of the tournament.
“It’s just a great conference,” Pathman said. “When you’re playing in it, every game is a competitive game, every game is like an NCAA Tournament game, so it really prepares you and I think that’s a big advantage. When you look at our ACC schedule, we never have an off-weekend. Everything is hard, and that keeps you focused.”
It also puts a premium on defining a style of play, and implementing it each outing. Emphasizing possession and controlling the rhythm of the game, the Blue Devils’ approach is one that grew as the season progressed. After scoring at least twice in each of their four victories in the tournament so far, and outshooting Long Beach State 16-3 in a 2-0 win in the Elite Eight, it’s certainly paid off.
Maintaining that, especially with the depth the Blue Devils have coming off the bench, is now their main focus for this weekend.
“It has to come from everyone, both on the field and off the field,” Pathman said. “The people off the field are great, they’re always encouraging and ready when their time comes, and the people on the field, we always reassure ourselves before the games, we go over what we really want to focus on, forwards running hard, backs keeping possession, but it has to come from all 11 of us, because if one person isn’t playing our style, it will throw everyone off.”
If they can maintain their run of form, though, a new banner could be hanging at Koskinen Stadium next fall.