After a heartbreaking loss in the NCAA championship game a year ago against Penn State, Duke is looking to make another deep run this time around.
The Blue Devils will have a chance to take their first step toward redemption this weekend.
No. 3 seed Duke will take on Charlotte in the first round of the NCAA tournament Saturday at 1 p.m. at Koskinen Stadium. Although the Blue Devils hope to make another deep run in November, Duke is making sure it takes things one game at a time despite being heavy favorites against the 49ers.
“You can’t look past anybody at this stage, because if you do then you’re not going to be playing in [the following games],” Duke head coach Robbie Church said. “All our focus and all our talk and everything has been about playing Charlotte. That is the only thing that I’m focusing on.”
The Blue Devils (12-4-3) are coming into this weekend’s action after a gut-wrenching loss in penalty kicks to Florida State in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament. Duke has won just one of its last four matches and will hope some time away from the field allows it to regain the form the team displayed in a five-game win streak beginning in the end of September.
On the other side of the pitch, Charlotte (11-8-2) enters the weekend riding a wave of momentum after winning three games in five days to clinch the Conference USA tournament title and earn a bid for the NCAA tournament. With the 49ers coming into the tournament with confidence, the Blue Devils will look to get off to a quick start and put any ideas of a potential upset to rest.
But getting on the board has not been easy for Duke in recent weeks.
Although the Blue Devils averaged around 2.1 goals per game this season, Duke has not scored more than two goals in a month. The Blue Devils were outshot 17-8 in their most recent loss and have struggled to create consistent pressure on the defense in large stretches of games this season.
Duke will certainly have opportunities to score against a Charlotte defense that was suspect in contests against ranked opponents this season. The 49ers lost to both then-No. 9 North Carolina and then-No. 22 South Carolina during the regular season by the score 3-0.
“We’ve created chances against some of the best teams in the country, so we’re going to create chances. We have to be able to finish,” Church said. “Once we see one or two go in, we’re going to be very excited about that, and hopefully we can build on that not only for Charlotte, but [also] for the rest of the tournament.”
Although the Blue Devils would like to get their offense going, the team’s defense has remained stout throughout the season with ACC Defensive Player of the Year Christina Gibbons leading the way. When the Duke defense has allowed shots on goal, junior goalkeeper EJ Proctor has been solid in net with only 13 goals allowed in 19 games this season.
With the Blue Devils just one year removed from a run to the national title game, this year’s team will certainly draw comparisons to last year’s group if Duke progresses through the tournament.
But this iteration has a much different look with eight freshmen on the roster and three of the starters from a year ago currently sidelined with injuries.
“I’m very proud of what we’ve done during the regular season, but we always look forward because our goals are championships and now it’s a chance to play for a national championship, and that’s always something that excites our program,” Church said.
The Blue Devils will look to continue working toward their goal with a win Saturday to set up a matchup with either Michigan or Illinois State Nov. 18.
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