The men's and women's lacrosse teams open their home seasons this afternoon with a doubleheader at the Duke Lacrosse Stadium.
The men kick off the action at 2 p.m., as they face Boston College. The eighth-ranked Blue Devils (1-0) will be looking to stay on a roll after their 11-10 upset of No. 5 Maryland last weekend. Last year, Duke easily dismantled the Eagles, 23-10, but it expects a much more competitive match this time.
"It will be very exciting to open up our season at home," coach Mike Pressler said. "We'll be playing one of the better BC teams we've seen, which is much improved. They handled [No. 23] Dartmouth in a scrimmage, so it should be an exciting game....We just have to be ready to play."
The Blue Devils are likely, however, to be without the services of sophomore midfielder Scott Diggs, who is out with a pulled hamstring.
The women will take on Vanderbilt in the second half of the double bill at 4 p.m. The Commodores (1-0) finished last year with the nation's fourth-best scoring attack, led by sophomore Susan Napolitano, who notched 53 goals.
"I think it's going to be a good measure, because they, like us, are a second-year program," coach Kerstin Kimel said. "Last year we lost to them by two goals-it was a bad trip to Nashville. [Tuesday] is going to be a good game for us because they are fast and aggressive and they go hard, so that should be a really good test for us."
It is the first official match of the season for the Blue Devils, but it comes on the heels of last weekend's South of the Border Tournament. Duke finished 6-0-2 in eight 25-minute matches against stiff competition, including perennial power Princeton.
"What it ultimately does is give us confidence," Kimel said. "I hope that we'll be relaxed going into our first game, meaning that we can really hang in and play well and beat teams that are Vanderbilt's caliber or better."
The back-to-back nature of the two matches, along with the seasonable weather, provide an ideal environment for the two teams to open their home seasons.
"It is the men's first home game, and I think they are going to have a good year," Kimel said. "Coach Pressler and I work every year to try and have a doubleheader, because what it tends to do is draw a lot of parents and a lot of fans, and it's exciting for both groups. Both teams enjoy having each other in the stands."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.