After Duke earned its first win of the season in its last game, the Blue Devils will look to continue that success as they begin ACC play, traveling to Charlottesville to take on Virginia at Klockner Stadium Friday at 7:30 p.m.
The Cavaliers (1-2) have begun the year much like Duke (1-2), with all three of their games having one-goal margins. And if history is any indication, the matchup will be a close one—the teams are 37-37-8 all time against each other. Four of the past six games have reached overtime, a proposition that should excite the Blue Devils, who are 3-0-1 in those games.
Both teams have struggled to generate offense in the early going, each with three goals in as many gams. Freshman Zach Carroll paces the Cavaliers, having found the back of the net twice, while three different Blue Devils have earned tallies in the early going.
Last year Duke began its conference play against Virginia, falling 1-0 despite outshooting the Cavaliers 19-12. Eight of the Blue Devil shots were taken by Nick Palodichuk, who leads Duke’s offensive attack again this year with a goal on a team-high 12 shots.
The game is Duke’s lone contest during the weekend, before gearing up for a midweek game against Georgia State and then a heavier dose of conference action.