1992 marked a return to the top for Duke soccer. And while much attention was devoted to the women's team and its storybook journey to the NCAA title game, that attention -- while well-deserved -- nonetheless may have caused us to overlook another success story played out on the very same fields.
For amidst all the spontaneous glory that surrounded the Blue Devil women, the men were quietly marching on to glory of their own. And after an overall record of 15-4-3 in 1992 which included regular season victories over national powerhouse Indiana and two-time national champion Virginia, Duke enters this season with a preseason ranking of No. 3 and the heavy burden of being a favorite.
"Two things that really helped us last year were we worked extremely hard and we had a tremendous hunger," says head coach John Rennie, who is entering his 15th season at the helm of the Blue Devil program.
"We had a lot of motivation last year. When you're the underdog, you have that kind of motivation going for you. This year we don't have that, so we have to find other ways to mentally prepare ourselves to play as a favorite rather than an underdog, but we'll solve that problem."
Motivation, however, may not be the greatest of the problems Rennie and his staff must solve. Though the Blue Devils return nine lettermen from last year's squad, graduation has taken some key players and left some gaping holes.
The most obvious of these holes is on the front line, where the departure of last year's leading scorer, Chris Yankee, has Rennie wondering just where the bulk of Duke's offensive production will come from.
Tri-captain A.J. Siebeneck, who last year finished third on the team in scoring with seven goals and 10 assists, will most likely assume Yankee's role as top gun, but the senior's front-line mate has yet to be determined.
The defense has also felt the strain of graduation through the loss of Tim Vieth, a starter in each of Duke's 22 games last season. Here, however, the loss is offset by a corps of returning players with both talent and experience.
Garth Lagerwey -- who Rennie calls one of the best goalkeepers ever to wear a Duke uniform -- returns to guard the net for the Blue Devils, bringing with him a list of impressive statistics from last season that includes a 1.07 goals against average, 88 saves and seven shutouts. At sweeper, junior Judd Willmann -- another 22-game starter last year -- brings consistency and a steadying force.
And tri-captain Steve Smith drops back from his midfield position to assume a man-to-man marking role, rounding out his Duke career with a goal of shutting down opposing teams' top scorers.
The team's true strength, however, lies in the midfield. Junior Jason Kreis, who last year finished the season as the Blue Devil's second leading scorer and as a second-team All-America, will be expected to shoulder much of the responsibility in the middle, as he also assumes the role of the team's third tri-captain.
"You lose players every year, and some years are worse then others," Rennie says. "I think this was a fairly average year, and in defense and midfield we have more than enough quality and depth to make up for the losses.
"This is the toughest conference in the country," Rennie says of the ACC. "The two things you strive for every year are to do well in the regular season in the conference, because if you do that, you're gonna get an NCAA tournament bid, and those are the two things you look for."
Last year's four-game run in the postseason came on the heels of a conference record that just barely topped the .500 mark and a loss to Clemson in the first round of the conference tournament. An improvement in the regular season could mean an improvement on last year's final four appearance.
But while the outside expectations reach lofty heights, Rennie's hopes for his young squad remain modest.
"The ultimate goal is to get into the playoffs," he says, dismissing the thought of returning to the final four for another shot at the title.
"I've always believed that in any four-year period you're gonna get in the playoffs two or three of those four years and one of those times you're gonna have things go your way and go a long way in the tournament. That's about the best you can hope for."
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