The men's soccer team uses two words when asked to describe its games at the College of Charleston Tournament this weekend: must win.
Coming off a disappointing 6-1 loss to Virginia last weekend, the Blue Devils (11-4, 3-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) need to return to winning form Saturday and Sunday, with games against South Carolina and the College of Charleston in Charleston.
The Blue Devils were ranked No. 1 shortly after the season began and remained undefeated through the first three weeks, but have fallen to No. 9 after losses to Maryland, Marshall, UNC and UVA.
The games this weekend hold importance not only for the overall season record, but for determining whether Duke receives a bid to the NCAA Tournament. Both South Carolina and Charleston are in the same NCAA region as Duke.
"Our backs are against the wall-we know that," sophomore midfielder Jay Heaps said.
Two wins this weekend would also put the Blue Devils well on their way to winning their stated goal of games for the season.
"We want to win both of these, and then finish off with a win at home so we can have a 15-game winning season," sophomore defender Evan Whitfield said. "That will help a lot with an NCAA bid."
The Blue Devils are expecting some tough competition this weekend.
"[South Carolina and College of Charleston] are very good teams," Duke coach John Rennie said. "It just comes down to who plays better on that particular day."
Practices this week have focused more on general play, rather than specific preparation for the upcoming games.
"Our strategy is to let other teams worry about us," Rennie said. "This time of the year you try to stay fit, stay sharp and work on a little bit of everything."
Rennie has been pleased with the Blue Devils' recent defensive play. He noted that they had recorded four shutouts in a row before the loss to the Cavaliers last Saturday night.
Duke is also counting on more offensive power from freshman forward Troy Garner and senior forward Brian Kelly.
To correct the mistakes they made in their loss to Virginia, the Blue Devils are experimenting with changes in the lineup and are looking for leadership from the seniors.
"We're just trying guys in different positions," Heaps said. "We're hopefully moving [senior] Mike Dunne back into the lineup."
The tournament is held at the College of Charleston, in Charleston, S.C., where the Blue Devils will play South Carolina Saturday at 5 p.m., and the College of Charleston Sunday at 2 p.m. Duke will return home to play its last home game of the season against William and Mary on Nov. 8.
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