Balance, speed, determination and desire are the cornerstones of a winning team. They are also four qualities that this year's men's soccer team appears to possess.
Coming off a 5-0 win against the College of Charleston on Wednesday in which five players scored, Duke coach John Rennie is pleased with the individual efforts of his players, as well as their ability to play within the team concept.
"The game against Charleston was very positive for us," Rennie said. "We're very balanced. Having five different players score shows we're not relying on anyone in particular."
The seventh-ranked Blue Devils (5-1) feel that they have improved with every game. They will look to continue their two-game winning streak with a match against the Clemson Tigers (3-2) on Sunday at Riggs Field in Clemson.
It will be the first Atlantic Coast Conference game of the year for the Blue Devils. This week, three teams from the perennially-strong ACC are ranked in the top 10 of the Soccer America poll.
In the ACC coaches' preseason poll, Duke and Clemson were third and fourth.
With their youth, the Tigers are similar to the Blue Devils. Clemson is typically a solid team, but it has undergone a facelift since last season.
Their leading scorer in '96, Jeff Yenzer, graduated, while freshman standouts Paul Stalteri and Eric Quill both left for professional careers.
However, the Tigers' starting goalkeeper, sophomore Matt Jordan, who last year garnered All-American honors and was a national player of the year candidate, returns. The Tigers also acquired transfer national freshman of the year Wojciech Krakowiak from 1996 national champion St. Johns.
"This year's team [Clemson] is a new team from last year," Rennie said. "We don't know that much about this team. They are always very high-pressure and have an aggressive defense."
The Blue Devils will counter with their speed and determination. The quickness, most prevalent among the marking backs, has allowed the team to change its formation to provide more midfield help. The midfield has become stronger throughout the year enabling the Blue Devils to control the ball more and to counter with fast breaks.
"We are very fast in every position," said junior midfielder Jay Heaps. "We have been able to move the ball into the attack because of our speed."
Although young like Clemson, Duke's five starting freshmen have played well and have not backed down against more experienced players.
"Coach has put the best players on the field in their position, and the freshman have been playing very well," Heaps said.
Duke has continued to work hard, and has thus made an impression on the coach. Rennie cited the players' desire to improve with every game.
Reserve defender Steve Maynard agrees that the team's attitude is better than it was in the past few years.
"Everybody wants to play," Maynard said. "We've all been pushing each other hard to get better and we've all been getting along really well."
Duke has made significant progress over the past few games as the freshmen have gained valuable experience and the returning players have continued to move toward their top form from two years ago.
"We want to get better with every game to get into the NCAAs-that's our goal," Heaps said.
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