In the last few years, the lacrosse team has been making history by beating Atlantic Coast Conference opponents and also by winning an NCAA tournament game. Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Duke Lacrosse Stadium, the Blue Devils (9-2 overall, 0-2 in the ACC) don't want to make history against the Virginia Cavaliers (9-1, 2-0)--they simply want to repeat it.
"This is the same situation as last year," head coach Mike Pressler said. "We're ranked No. 7 and they are ranked No. 2, just like last year. Regardless of the outcome of this game, we play them next week in the ACCs, same as last year."
Duke wouldn't mind if the score were also the same as last year's. In one of its biggest wins ever, Duke traveled to Charlottesville and came away with a 9-8 win. That win, however, was an isolated incident in a long history of lacrosse between these two teams. The Blue Devils lost to Virginia in the ACC semifinals the next week, 19-13, giving UVa its 31st win in the last 34 games against the Blue Devils.
Despite that success, don't expect Virginia to get too overconfident for this upcoming game. Duke is ranked No. 7 and has beaten six ranked opponents this year. The Cavaliers are well aware of these facts and remember last year as well.
"This is probably the best Duke team we've ever seen," said Virginia head coach Dom Starsia. "This is the same cast of characters that beat us last year, except that they are a year older and a year smarter."
Among those returning from last year's victory are seniors Ross Moscatelli and Matt Ogelsby. Last year against Virginia, Moscatelli had two goals and an assist while Ogelsby recorded three goals. Duke's offense also features senior attackman Scott Harrison, who is currently ranked third in the ACC in scoring with 40 points.
However, the two people ranked ahead of Harrison are both Cavaliers. Sophomore Doug Knight leads the league in scoring with 45 points and in goals scored with 35.
Right behind Knight in scoring is junior Tim Whiteley with 44 points. Whiteley is the ACC leader in assists with 28. Rounding out Virginia's offense is sophomore Michael Watson, last season's ACC Rookie of the Year. Watson currently ranks fourth in the ACC in scoring with 37 points.
"Their great attack is their strength," Pressler said. "Our tight defense is our strength. That's the key match-up--their offense versus our defense."
The Cavaliers have scored 11 or more goals in every game this year and have averaged 21.75 goals per game in their last four.
Luckily for Duke, it has one of the hottest goalies in the nation in junior Joe Kirmser. Kirmser currently has a .665 save percentage, and more importantly, he knows how to beat Virginia.
Kirmser was last year's hero, saving 16 shots while allowing only eight goals. A repeat of that performance is key if the Blue Devils hope to have a shot at another upset.
"Duke has one of the strongest, most physical defenses in the ACC," Artesia said. "We have three strong attackmen, so this is a real challenge for Duke. If our attackmen are harassed and don't play well, we don't do well."
While the teams meet next week in the ACC semifinals regardless of this outcome, both teams still know what this game means: Besides giving the winning team confidence for next week, the winner receives another boost in the all-important race for high NCAA tournament seedings.
"We have a lot riding on these next two games," Pressler said. "It would be great for this program to host another NCAA tournament game."
For that to happen, Duke will need to pull off at least one win in the next two games against Virginia. As they showed last year, the Blue Devils are capable of doing just that.
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