The last few weeks of the regular season didn't go quite like the field hockey team expected. Or anything like it.
Duke (10-8, 1-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) dropped games against top-five teams Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia over the last two weeks to put its NCAA chances in serious jeopardy.
This weekend, the Blue Devils get their last chance.
Fourth-seeded Duke opens up the ACC Tournament in Chapel Hill this afternoon at 2 p.m. when it faces fifth-seeded Wake Forest (8-10, 0-4) in the play-in game. This is the fifth straight time the two schools have met in the first round, with the Blue Devils having taken three of the first four games.
But in reality, Duke is looking to do far more than end its season against the Demon Deacons. The Blue Devils may have to win the tournament to make the NCAAs, and they realize the slump from which they must emerge. Duke allowed five goals in all three ACC games it lost at the end of the regular season.
"I don't think I'm frustrated, but I'm disappointed," senior Melissa Panasci said. "I don't think I could be frustrated because I know we've tried our best. But at the same time, as a senior, I had hoped to get farther. Unfortunately we probably won't make the [NCAA] Tournament, but it's not something I'll look back on with regret."
The one thing Duke would regret is losing to Wake Forest. The Blue Devils won the first meeting between the teams, 2-1, Sep. 17 in Winston-Salem. The next time, three weeks later, Duke had its most inspired effort of the year, trouncing the Demon Deacons 9-1.
It was Wake Forest's worst loss of the year, and Duke's best overall game. In fact, it seemed to be the peak of the Blue Devils' season. Since then, they have a record of 4-4. Duke is currently ranked 15th nationally, though the latest poll came out before the Blue Devils' last two losses.
"I think Duke is a very talented team," UNC coach Karen Shelton said. "When we beat them, we played very, very well against them. I don't think the difference is with Duke. The other teams are really good."
In the Blue Devils' string of losses, they followed a similar pattern of falling behind quickly in the first half and then being forced to play catch-up the rest of the game.
Duke is 6-1 this year when it scores four or more goals, but the early deficits have greatly slowed the Blue Devil offense.
"We have to come out a lot quicker," Duke coach Liz Tchou said. "We're making mistakes early on and then all of a sudden we're down by a few goals. The kids know they can play with these teams, but they have to prove it on the field."
In order to be included in the 12-team NCAAs, the Blue Devils must prove themselves now. If they beat Wake Forest, they'll face top-seed Virginia tomorrow at 2 p.m.
Note: Senior Cyndi Breyer needs one assist to tie and two to break Duke's single-season assist mark, currently held by Alison DeLeo, who had 18 last year.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.