Duke hopes to regroup vs. Northeastern, Richmond

The No. 6 Blue Devils took the morning off yesterday, in an effort to gain both rest and momentum following Wednesday night's loss to the University of North Carolina. Head coach Liz Tchou said that Duke was "pretty much spent" emotionally, mentally and physically, and told her players that Thursday morning's three-hour long practice would be canceled.

The timing couldn't be better for the Blue Devils to regroup because they face one of the toughest teams in the country this weekend, and will barely have time to put down their sticks before playing a second game. Duke (4-3) faces No. 3 Northeastern on Saturday and Richmond on Sunday.

Duke has a debt to repay to Northeastern. Last year, the formidable Huskies defeated the Devils 4-1 in a game that could have been much closer, because the two teams were virtually the same statistically. This brought Northeastern to a lead in the series, 4-3.

Tchou commented that, although she was not present for the game last year, she believes that Northeastern will be a challenge for the Blue Devils across the board. Duke's best chance, she said, will be to play an aggressive first half, similar to the game recently played against North Carolina.

"[The Huskies are] very strong in every position," Tchou said. "We want to score first, to come out tough in the first half. [We need to] play very aggressive, and go on the offensive right away."

But Richmond may be gunning for Duke in a similar fashion this year. Last year, the Blue Devils shut out the overmatched Richmond squad, scoring five points to none. Tchou is not underestimating Richmond this year, though.

After the Blue Devils have played arch-rival UNC and a high-ranked Northeastern within four days, the next game could prove to be a bit of a let-down.

"I'm a little bit leery about having the Richmond game right after Northeastern," Tchou said.