Field hockey faces first test of season at James Madison

With two weeks of preseason now just a memory, the field hockey team commences its second season of the Liz Tchou era Saturday when it travels to Harrisonburg, Va. to take on James Madison at 1 p.m.

Duke opens play seeking to build upon the foundation it set a year ago. In 1996, the Blue Devils set a school record for Atlantic Coast Conference wins in a season en route to a 12-10 overall record and a subsequent berth in the NCAAs.

But now, expectations are higher and Duke can no longer surprise opponents like it did a year ago.

"Last year we didn't have any expectations, and we surprised a lot of people," Tchou said. "This year is another challenge. We're not going to surprise anyone because they know we're good."

The challenge begins at Bridgeforth Stadium with the Dukes. James Madison, three years removed from winning the 1994 national title, is coming off a 13-9 season that was not good enough to qualify the team for the NCAAs.

The Dukes are led by sophomore Julie Martinez and senior Tara Perilla. Martinez set a JMU freshman record with 18 goals in 1996 and was named All-South Rookie of the Year as a result. Perilla started 20 games at goalkeeper and posted a sparkling 2.21 goals against average.

"This is a very tough game," Tchou said. "They're going to come out on fire, even more so than a UNC, very upbeat and very up-tempo. We're trying to let our team know that this is how it's going to be."

As Duke begins its difficult 18-game schedule, the Blue Devils will look to hone in on the details of their games and continue to improve as the season progresses.