When the men's lacrosse team travels to Geneva, N.Y., to face Hobart College on Saturday, it will be almost like going home.
Upstate New York is one of the hotbeds of lacrosse, and the 11 Blue Devils who hail from the area will be eager to take on the squad they grew up with.
"We've got a homecoming for our upstate guys," Duke coach Mike Pressler said. "I know [they] really want this one badly. They've grown up around Hobart lacrosse, the tradition that Hobart has had over the years, and they know it's going to be a very tough game for us."
But No. 3 Duke (8-3, 2-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) has a lot more at stake than making a good showing in front of family and friends. With a scant two games before NCAA Tournament selections, the Blue Devils are fighting to hold on to one of the top four seeds. If Duke can grasp one of these top seedings, it will receive a first round bye, which would mean an extra week of preparation and one less opponent to challenge.
Although the Blue Devils appear to be on track for a bye, they're not taking anything for granted. Realizing the dangers of complacency, they believe that a loss to either No. 20 Hobart (5-4) or May 3 opponent Penn State would knock them out of contention for a first-round bye.
"What we're playing for right now is to stay where we're at," Pressler said. "If we finish like we plan to, we should remain in the top four and get an NCAA first round bye, but if we stumble along the way, we're not going to get it. We'd like to remain in the top four, and we think it's possible. If we take care of what we [need to] take care of at Hobart Saturday, we're one game away from achieving it."
After finishing runner-up to Virginia in the ACC Tournament, Duke hopes to bounce back at Hobart and pick up momentum going into its final regular season game and the NCAA Tournament. In order to regain winning form, the Blue Devils intend to take advantage of their speed and their transition play. Perhaps most important to Duke, though, is the need to force Hobart to adjust to its style, and for the Blue Devils to maintain control of the game on both ends of the field.
"When we've been able to control the tempo of the game, we've been able to win or pull ahead of other teams sometimes," senior attackman Scott Allen said. "We're not a team that likes to hold on to the ball and sit on it for the entire game. We take our transition opportunities when they're there and we have control of the situation, but if not, we like to slow it down."
Another crucial factor for the Blue Devils will be consistency. In its ACC Tournament loss to UVa, Duke lost an early lead when the Cavaliers scored eight second-half goals. The Blue Devils feel that if they are to bring home a victory, one superb half won't be enough; they will need to play their best lacrosse for the entire 60 minutes.
"We've got to keep our concentration," Allen said. "We've got to put four solid quarters together in every game, because when you get into the playoffs, one bad quarter and that's it- you can pack up and go home."
Leading the way for Hobart is attackman Nathan Roost. The junior from Australia averages 4.56 points and 3.56 goals per game, good for 16th and 3rd in the NCAA, respectively. Senior middie Trevor Buck and freshman attackman Kevin DeWall may also present a threat for the Blue Devils.
Although the Statesmen possess a potent attack, their youth lies as a potential downfall. Hobart has no seniors and only three juniors on its front line. This relatively inexperienced offense will have to go up against a veteran Duke defense, which is keyed by senior defensemen Tyler Hardy, Greg Ehrnman, David Stilley and Patrick Doyle and senior goalkeeper Joe Kirmser. The Blue Devils will attempt to use their experience and their physical prowess to overcome the young Statesmen.
"I think we have to get on them and really pressure them all over the field," Stilley said. "Hobart's definitely not a team to take lightly. They can beat anyone, but think that our experience will shine through on Saturday."
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