True champions are proven not by their performance when things are running smoothly, but by their ability to overcome adversity.
The men's soccer team will undergo one such test of greatness on Sunday when the Blue Devils travel to Maryland to face the Terrapins without senior co-captain Brian Kelly. Kelly, a 1995 All-American and Duke's leading scorer this season, suffered a severe concussion during Wednesday's extremely physical victory over Campbell. He will not be able to play in Sunday's game, and it is not known when he will return.
"Wednesday night there was no chance for [Kelly's concussion] to really affect the team," Duke coach John Rennie said. "His not being on the field Sunday will definitely impact our play."
Consequently, the Blue Devils (6-0 overall, 1-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) will have to rely on their bench to replace Kelly's attacking power. Fortunately, the Duke bench has a lot of depth, including a plethora of forwards who can step up and fill in for him.
Junior Andy Kwon, who has been playing in the midfield lately, is the most likely replacement for Kelly up front. Freshman Peter Gail and juniors Matt Shattuck and Tony Frangella, however, could also be called onto the field.
Tradition may play a role in the game as well. Maryland has been an especially formidable rival for the Blue Devils throughout the years. Duke has not defeated the Terps since 1993.
"Maryland is a very difficult opponent," Rennie said. "We've lost to Maryland in both of the games we've played against them in the last two years.... Historically, Maryland has been a problem for us."
The Terps have compiled a record of 3-2-2 thus far. While that may not seem very impressive, both ties came on the road against ACC foes-No. 2 Virginia and N.C. State. Sunday's upcoming match against Duke will be Maryland's first ACC game at home, and its home crowd is expected to come out in full force.
"The crowd will be there to see us," Rennie said. "It will give Maryland more adrenaline. When you're the visiting team, you don't get that added boost."
The Blue Devils hope to score a goal early in the contest in order to minimize the home field advantage and possibly mute the Terrapin crowd.
The Terps possess a talented front line, and their defense has not been generous with its previous opponents thus far. Their goalkeeper, junior Russell Payne, has a goals against average of .706 per game and has collected 38 saves this season. The Blue Devils believe that a forceful attack that can penetrate Maryland's defensive juggernaut will be necessary in order to emerge victorious from Sunday's contest.
"We need to work on attacking as a unit," sophomore midfielder Jay Heaps said. "We haven't been scoring as a team; we've been scoring as individuals. We don't have the offensive flow we had last year.
"We have a great defense, so we haven't needed the offense as much this year. But we'll need to get that flow back."
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