This season's women's lacrosse NCAA Tournament finals will take place at Lehigh's Goodman Stadium, but the closest Duke will probably get to the national championship will be on Sunday, when the Blue Devils take on Lehigh at legendary Robert Kaufman Field.
And while the Blue Devils (5-8) are likely out of contention for any postseason opportunities, a late-season winning streak could go a long way towards accomplishing a number of goals.
"We're a young team, and it's been a difficult season," Duke coach Kirsten Kimel said. "We've made a lot of progress, like when we lost by one goal to William and Mary, who was ranked seventh or eighth in the nation at that time. But we don't want that type of progress with losses. We want three wins to end our season, and if we do that, it would be like winning our own national championship."
Two members of the Duke staff actually have experience winning it all at Lehigh, as Kimel and assistant coach Theresa Ingram were members of the 1993 Maryland national championship team that defeated Harvard there in double overtime to take the NCAA Title
But this year's Duke squad would be ecstatic to finish at .500. After going 3-12 in the program's inaugural season, the Blue Devils have already surpassed last year's mark. The next goal is to finish the season with an 8-8 record, and Duke will take the first two steps towards that goal this weekend, as it travels to play at Villanova today and at Lehigh on Sunday.
"To get to .500 in just our second season would be a tremendous step for the program," Kimel said. "To win five more games than the year before-that's the type of progression you want to see. We've already achieved a better record than last year, but to get to 8-8 would give us a great deal of satisfaction."
The seeming contentment with mediocrity comes with building a program from scratch and setting smaller goals that are attainable rather than setting expectations too high. Duke's initial goal this year was to open the season with a win, and the Blue Devils met that goal by destroying Vanderbilt 15-4 on March 4. The confidence from that win helped propel Duke to victories in three of its first four games.
Kimel hopes that reaching the break-even mark will help lead the Blue Devils to greater things in the seasons to come.
"From the coaches' point of view, to end up with a .500 record would mean so much because it's a record you can be proud of as a second-year team," freshman goalie Shannon Chaney said. "The little things really matter more at this point, and having a .500 record would make the whole season worthwhile."
The Blue Devils hope to have learned a number of little things from their last game, when they were soundly beaten 14-4 at the hands of top-ranked Maryland in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.
But despite the beating, the Blue Devils did have their moments against the two-time defending national champions. In the second half, Duke rattled off three straight goals to close the gap and put some fear in the hearts of the Terrapin faithful.
"Now we know that we can do well against a really good team," Chaney said. "We put together some plays, but we also worked on our transition game and on taking smarter shots. Now we know that we can win all three games."
Villanova appears to be the more formidable of the opponents, as the Wildcats beat Lehigh 11-5 earlier this season. Villanova (7-6) features a balanced scoring attack, with seven players who have double-digit point totals. By comparison, Duke's Tricia Martin and Meghan McLaughlin have 30 and 25 points, respectively, while the next closest player is Kendra Basner with 12 points. The Wildcats are led by seniors Shannon O'Neil, who has 21 goals and 20 assists, and Kristin Streeker, who has 25 goals.
Lehigh, on the other hand, provides a look similar to the Blue Devils. Junior middie Elizabeth Brodbeck has tallied 26 goals on the season for the Mountain Hawks (6-6), but the next highest mark is Heather Towner's 15 scores. Lehigh also features a roster with only one senior, one more than Duke has this year.
"Villanova seems like a decent team, but they may be more experienced," Kimel said. "It's definitely not going to be an easy game, but its one we can win.
"Lehigh is young and inexperienced, and I think we're athletically superior. But we're going to be coming off that game on Friday. I anticipate both games being tough this weekend."
If the Blue Devils manage to emerge unscathed from the weekend after departing Kaufman Field, they will be just one step away from symbolically returning to claim their own national championship. The test will occur next Wednesday in the season finale against Davidson.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.