The stakes are high and time is running out.
On Friday at 7:00 p.m. at Duke Soccer Stadium, the men's soccer team (11-6, 3-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) will take on the sixth-ranked William and Mary (15-2-1) in its last home game of the season.
In this, their final stand before the ACC tournament, the Blue Devils are aiming to bounce back from three straight losses to Virginia, South Carolina and the College of Charleston. This recent streak is one of many momentum swings in what has so far been a turbulent season.
"It's a long season, and we play a very difficult schedule," senior co-captain Brian Kelly said. "We can't expect to win every game. There are going to be times when we have to suck it up and play hard. Nothing's ever going to go your way the entire season. The best thing we can do is be optimistic and concentrate on the next game."
The Tribe presents a formidable opponent for the struggling Blue Devils. William and Mary is in first place in its conference and is second only to Virginia in the East region. The Tribe's greatest strength lies in its potent offense-although it has not garnered as many shutouts as the Blue Devils, the squad seems to have a knack for finding the back of the net at every possible opportunity.
"They're a strong, physical team, and they're good in the air," Kelly said. "In general they're all around a very good opponent. We're going to have to be focused on our game and not worry so much about theirs. What we need to do is enforce how we play our game."
William and Mary's offense is led by the trio of seniors Waughn Hughes and Steve Jolley and junior Wade Barrett. Hughes, who captured the school record for career goals with 47 in its victory over East Carolina last night, has amassed 19 goals this year. Last year, he was not nearly as prolific, notching only five goals all season.
Duke's present situation is the exact reverse of William and Mary's. While last season was marked by an offense that scored a plethora of goals, this season's squad has not been quite as productive. In 1995, the Duke attack was led by Kelly, sophomore midfielder Jay Heaps, sophomore forward Josh Henderson and junior midfielder Andy Kwon, who collected 16, 15, eight and eight goals respectively.
This year, Kelly, Heaps, Henderson and Kwon have only 19 goals between them. Consequently, as opposed to the scorefests of yesteryear, many of Duke's contests this year have been intense, high-pressure battles in which the outcomes have been up in the air until the last buzzer.
"Too many games have gone down to the wire where either team can win," Duke coach John Rennie said. "It puts a lot of pressure on the team to win so many, always in a tight game. That's not really our strength. Our strength is going forward and scoring goals. It's the style that we play."
The Blue Devils hope to put the match away by scoring goals early in the game. An early lead would alleviate the pressure on themselves and transfer some of it to the Tribe.
In addition, Duke intends to stymie the triad of Hughes, Barrett and Jolley, but it will have to tighten up its defense in order to deny them any chances to score. The Blue Devil defense will also be boosted by the return of junior Adam Mastrelli to the lineup. Mastrelli has been out with a sprained ankle since early October.
Although NCAA bids are not determined until after the conference tournaments, there is still a lot at stake in Friday night's contest. The Blue Devils will step out onto the field as the underdogs. If it hopes to secure a bid, Duke feels that it will have to prove that, despite its recent setbacks, the squad is still capable of contending with high-caliber opponents and coming out on top.
"Right now we have to look at our own team," Heaps said. "We think we're good enough to get a bid, but we have to prove it to William and Mary on Friday. We have to show them what we're all about."
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