Bill Hempen swears it's not about revenge.
"That was a long, long time ago," the Blue Devils' head coach said of his team's 3-1 loss to then-unranked Nebraska on September 8th. "We're a completely different team now, and it shouldn't be a factor."
Despite what Hempen says, it's hard to believe that Duke could have forgotten that surprising loss which knocked the Devils from their perch at No. 6 and sent the two teams in opposite directions.
Since that win, the Cornhuskers have gone on to a corn-fed fairy-tale of a season, while Duke continues to ride an unbelievable roller coaster. The two teams will square off in a rematch Sunday at 2 p.m. EST, when Duke (10-9-3) travels to Lincoln for second-round action in the NCAA Tournament.
At 22-0, Nebraska is one of only two unbeaten teams left in the country. The other, Portland (17-0-2), would face the winner of the Duke-Nebraska match with a win this weekend against Vanderbilt. But rest assured, nobody is looking past Sunday's game.
The No. 5 Huskers used the victory over Duke as a springboard to their first undefeated season and a Big 12 Conference championship. Nebraska's aggressive, physical attack has worn down smaller opponents all season, and the Huskers' bruising style has won it a reputation-if not a lot of respect. Critics have been quick to jump on the Huskers' weak schedule and rough play, but, like it or not, Nebraska remains unbeaten.
Kari Uppinghouse leads a talented-and big-Nebraska midfield with 48 points on 19 goals. She has six game-winners on the year, including one last week in overtime to knock off Minnesota in the first round. Freshman Lindsay Eddleman has added 16 goals to give the Huskers a brutal 1-2 punch. At 5-foot-11 and 5-foot-10, respectively, the pair are more than a handful for the undersized Blue Devils.
"They're just bigger than us as a team," Hempen said. "We certainly have to match them physically, and we need to try to throw [Uppinghouse] off her stride a bit."
The Blue Devils, who have worked all week on playing aggressively and winning balls in the air, know what to expect from the Huskers' dynamic duo. In the two teams' earlier meeting, Duke led 1-0, but could not hold on as Eddleman and Uppinghouse both scored to shock the Blue Devils.
"We had our chances early and didn't finish them," Hempen said. "We should have put them away, but we didn't. [Then] they took a lot of confidence from their first goal, and before you knew it, it was 3-1."
Hempen insists that Duke hasn't altered its approach all season, despite a series of ups and downs that included a 6-1-2 stretch and a five-match winless streak. But he does acknowledge that his team is playing its best soccer of the year-and at just the right time.
"They've learned that the only way they can win is to play as a unit," Hempen said.
Duke's strength starts on defense-the Blue Devils have posted shutouts in three of their last four games. Defenders Samantha Baggett, Lauren Cyran and Liz Speights have come together to form a menacing back line, and they are the only three Blue Devils to have started all 22 matches.
"They play with a passion unlike any I've seen in my nine years here," Hempen praised.
Offensively, freshman Sherrill Kester (eight goals, two assists) and sophomore Kristy Whelchel (eight goals, one assist) continue to pace the Blue Devils. Emily Feeney has been the star of late, scoring four goals in the last four games.
"[Feeney] kind of epitomizes this team," Hempen said of his hard-working freshman. "She's just a battler; she makes the most of every minute on the field."
Feeney has come off the bench in 20 of 22 games this year, and will likely do the same Sunday. Her aggressive style should match up well against Nebraska, but Hempen has preferred to use her as a secret weapon of sorts, rather than in the starting lineup.
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