The women's soccer team, coming off a big win versus Virginia, will travel to Raleigh tonight at 7 p.m. for an Atlantic Coast Conference matchup with N.C. State. The ninth-ranked Blue Devils (6-2, 2-0 in the ACC) upset No. 3 Virginia on Friday night, 3-2, while the Wolfpack is coming off a 3-0 win over East Carolina.
N.C. State enters the contest with a 6-5 record overall and a 1-1 mark in conference play. The Wolfpack started its season with five wins in six tries but has struggled lately, winning only one of its last five games. Thus the Wolfpack is trying to get its season back on track.
This is also an important game for Duke, which hopes to avoid a letdown after Friday night's upset. Head coach Bill Hempen compared Duke's position going into the game tonight with the one Virginia was in Friday night.
"Virginia had not beaten us for two or three or maybe four times, and we're going into N.C. State having not beaten them for three or four times," Hempen said.
The Blue Devils hope they will not suffer the same fate as the Cavaliers. But Hempen does not think his team will have trouble getting motivated.
"The kids have been made aware of the magnitude of this game for us," he said.
N.C. State has won the last three meetings between the two, with Duke's last win versus the Wolfpack coming near the end of the 1994 season. N.C. State may not appear to be as strong on paper, but a conference game can never be taken lightly. Hempen says that in conference play you can forget about records and players-a lot of it comes from inside.
Duke will not only be facing an unwelcoming crowd in Raleigh but also the Wolfpack's senior goalie Katherine Mertz. Entering the season, Mertz was nearing the mark of the all-time ACC leader in saves and shutouts. She has accumulated 351 saves in three seasons and needed just 46 more coming into the season to break the conference record. Mertz is tied for the conference lead with three shutouts and needs just four more shutouts to break that ACC record as well.
Duke would like to end this streak of losses to the Wolfpack and improve to 3-0 in the ACC.
"We're getting into the time of year where you can't afford too many losses," Hempen said.
Emily Feeney and Sherill Kester, who each have scored seven goals in eight games, lead the way for the Duke offense. The Blue Devils hope to build on the three goals against Virginia and continue gaining as many opportunities for goals as possible. Hempen said that he is not as much concerned with the numbers, such as shots on goal, as he is with chances.
"Statistics can be misleading," he said. "As long as we can create as many chances as possible, we don't care what the actual numbers say as far as shots.
"This is a two-fold game. It is an ACC game as well as an in-region game as far as selection into the NCAA tournament."
With the postseason not too far down the road, this game offers Duke a chance to remain undefeated in conference play and impress members of the NCAA selection committee. Hempen feels confident about his team's chances tonight in Raleigh, but is certainly not looking past this game.
"We will have to be physically prepared and mentally prepared to play a very good team in N.C State," he said.
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