Last Saturday, the Duke lacrosse team went into Charlottesville and pulled off a 9-8 upset of then second-ranked Virginia -- a victory head coach Mike Pressler called "the biggest win in the program's history."
Now, Duke must turn around and do it again.
Friday, the seventh-ranked Blue Devils (9-3, 1-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) once again take to the road, once again to Charlottesville and once again to face off against the Wahoos -- this time in the opening round of the ACC tournament. Game time is 8 p.m.
North Carolina and Maryland square off in the tournament's first game at 6 p.m.
"Our guys feel confident we can beat them now," Pressler said. "But it's tough to beat the same team twice in five days. Virginia didn't play their best game, but we'll definitely see their best on Friday."
After seeing first-hand just what the 8-2 Cavaliers can do, Pressler feels his Blue Devils match up well. He gives the edge to Duke on the attack and on defense, where Duke's size and depth both proved to be key in wearing down Virginia on Saturday. He rates the two goalkeepers -- UVa's James Ireland and Duke sophomore Joe Kirmser -- dead even, adding that the lone goalie spot on the prestigious All-ACC team is up for grabs between these two. The game, then, will be won or lost in the midfield, where Virginia's speed and depth will force Duke to play an uncharacteristically slow-tempo game.
"We can't go up and down with them," said Pressler. "We can't make it a 110-yard game. They're the most athletic team in Division I lacrosse.
"For us to win, it has to be a 9-8 game again. We can't get in a shootout with them. That's when they're at their best."
The Cavaliers have been at their best nearly all season. They have beaten six teams ranked at the time in the nation's top-ten. They trounced UNC 16-10, this after the Tar Heels rolled over Duke 23-9. They are once again playing at home in Klockner Stadium, where they have lost only once in seven games since the venue opened in 1993. They will be tough to beat, to say the least.
Duke has not won an ACC tournament game since 1989 -- the year the event was first held -- when it defeated Maryland by a narrow one-goal margin in the opening round. Since then, it has lost first-round games to each of the other three ACC teams. The Blue Devils have never won an ACC title.
Another upset win over UVa would all but guarantee them a trip to the NCAA postseason tournament, a feat they last achieved in 1992. Along with five other wins over top-15 teams this year, it would give them a shot at a fairly high seed in the NCAAs. It would accomplish one of the goals Pressler and his team set at the beginning of this year.
But the Blue Devils are looking for more.
"The other three teams in the conference have a tradition -- a tradition of excellence in lacrosse," said Pressler. "We have no tradition of that kind. This gives us another game, another chance, to build that kind of tradition. A victory in the ACC tournament would go a long way towards doing that."
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