What The Heart Wants

Back To The Future

Game day in Cary began with the Hearts having breakfast before a short walk around the hotel complex and shopping district. Erica announced the starting lineup during their team meal at 1pm. Wendy and Bill came to the Doubletree about 3:00 and had a chance to talk with the coaching staff and Lauren about the conversation she had with Tyler Wise on Thursday afternoon concerning Heart-to-Heart. Bill outlined a means of protecting the players from unwanted or undesired attention without them necessarily knowing it, which he said he wanted to discuss further on the trip up to Washington.

The Hearts' bus left the Doubletree at 4pm for the short trip to WakeMed Soccer Park. As the team disembarked in the parking lot, Lauren got some photos for the club's Instagram page. Emily and Lindsey gave her a sweet couple shot which ended up being disrupted by Cari. Kristie and Steph McCaffrey looked to be arguing over the latter's choice of pre-game attire (flannel wrapped around her waist, t-shirt, ripped jeans, and combat boots). EJ, Becca, and Morgan Reid were being filmed as they entered the stadium with Lauren asking them questions about returning "home" to face their alma mater. Once in the locker room, everything was strictly business. Steph Labbe was meditating with her headphones on while Frannie and Nickolette were pumping out the pregame playlist they had while together at Penn State, which made Savannah's ears perk up and she joined in the pump-up-the-squad atmosphere. Kristin, EJ, and Ali were the first on the field for warm-ups, with Sammy Jo joining them a couple of minutes later.

Kristin: You've seen all of these players plenty of times in the past, I'm sure. Nothing different tonight than in your Duke training sessions. Just remember that and you should do fine.

EJ: I'm not overly worried about any of my former teammates beating me. I'm more nervous about playing them in front of a crowd that will love the name on the front of their jerseys more than the ones on the backs of mine, Becca's, and Morgan's.

Sammy Jo: Piece of advice from someone with a little bit of experience in this situation. You have to block out the hate they have for the team you now represent and not take it personally. When I went back to Corvallis as USC's starting goalkeeper, I got a bit of a hand during introductions. Once the whistle blew, it was 180 the other direction. It wasn't that they hated me for transferring from Oregon State to Southern Cal, but I was now in another team's colors and, for those 90 minutes, I was the enemy. Besides, this is an exhibition and you're not really out to harm the home team the same way I was back then.

Ali: The one visit the Pride made to Washington last year was sobering for a lot of reasons. One, I was from the area and had played my entire NWSL career to that point with the Spirit. Second, Ashlyn was out injured and thus I didn't have that slight bit of comfort and support from her. Third, my future baaaaaaaae was NOT going to make it easy on us. I had to deal with a few boos, especially from fans who felt I forced Jim (Gabarra, Washington's head coach) and Bill (Lynch, Spirit owner) to deal me to Orlando due to Ash. After the game, which ended in a 2-2 draw, I was pulled aside by Dalen Cuff, the NWSL on Lifetime's pregame/post-game host and sideline reporter, to give my impressions of my first match back at Hendricks Field. I gave the fans a huge shout-out, which translated to a larger-than-expected group waiting for me when I went to the railing after the interview.

EJ: Thanks for the advice, you two. I want to keep a clean sheet for whatever length of time Erica plans to play me and I would hope that after the match, the Duke faithful will be kind again to myself and the other two alumnae on the Hearts.

Ali and Kristin took shots on EJ while Sammy Jo watched from behind the net to give her tips about positioning. The rest of the Hearts came out of the locker room as a group, with Steph Labbe joining the other keepers by the south goal and the others limbering up on the Hearts' side of midfield. The two coaching staffs along with Bill Palladino conversed at midfield, with Erica praising Duke head coach Robbie Church's three former charges who were now with her team. Up in the stands, Kelly and Kathy Proctor, Kevin and Cheryl Reid, Schuyler Debree, and Kelley and Moe were seated alongside Lauren Green and Wendy and Zach Palladino. Closer to game time, Katelyn Rowland and Taylor Smith joined the Hearts' cheering section to root on their former teammates Steph Ochs and Liz Eddy, along with the sisters of their former Courage and UCLA teammates Sam Mewis and Abby Dahlkemper.

Duke took the opening kickoff and built up an attack down their left side of the field, challenging Jen Hoy and Steph Ochs' defensive skills. A cross from Ella Stevens was punched out by EJ, landing at the feet of Lindsey Horan. Her pass to Morgan Andrews was dropped back to Morgan Reid, then recycled to EJ, who passed it between the center backs to Becca. As she brought the ball up the field, she noticed Jen moving inward and hit her with a solid pass. Once received, Jen sent a one-touch pass to Lindsey who stepped through the ball and sent it past Duke goalkeeper Brooke Heinsohn. The Hearts would double the scoreline in the 38th minute on an over-the-top ball from Becca that Savannah corralled and shot over Heinsohn's diving body.

Erica started off the second half with a slightly-different formation and a couple of player experiments.

Proctor

Eddy-----Quinn-----Reid-----Levin

Krieger

Matheson-------------------Mewis

Horan

McCaffrey---------Jordan

With the rookie center back pairing in front of Proctor, the Blue Devils were able to muster a greater challenge on the Hearts' goal, requiring EJ to make a couple of moderately difficult saves. Ali toe-poked a ball away from Kayla McCoy toward Becca, who sent a one-touch, 65 yard, cross-field ball to Kristie, which unfortunately went out-of-bounds before she could catch up to it. A forced turnover by Kristie was passed up to Lindsey, who sent a through-ball past both Duke center backs into the stride of Steph McCaffrey, which was deposited into the net by the fourth-year pro. Steph Labbe came on for EJ at the 65 minute mark, along with Frannie replacing Savannah, Morgan Andrews replacing Becca (shifting Ali back to partner Cari, who entered for Morgan Reid), and Steph Ochs on for Lindsey, which moved Diana into the center. The Hearts wrapped up the scoring in the 74th minute as Steph Ochs got her head on the end of a Morgan Andrews corner kick, putting it past Mackenzie Coles into the Blue Devils' net.

Philadelphia 4 Duke 0 (Horan/Hoy, Jordan/Quinn, McCaffrey/Horan, Ochs/Andrews)

***

After the post-game handshakes, EJ, Becca, and Morgan Reid went over to the stands and caught up with their parents. Ali, Steph Labbe, Kristie, and Emily were the players who attracted the largest crowds from the young fans in attendance. Lindsey and Cari showed off a new Frick-and-Frack handshake, which Frannie and Nickolette attempted to out-do but were sadly not in the same league as the other pair. Kelley and Moe went onto the field and, after coaxing Savannah to join them, slid behind their fellow Georgia Girl for a picture taken by Lauren, with the caption, "Who would have thought that the first meetup of the Georgia Girls this season would be in North Carolina?! #peaches"