The women's soccer team won't need a scouting report for its next game.
The Blue Devils (14-4, 6-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) are set to face Wake Forest (12-7-1, 1-6) in the first round of the ACC Tournament today in Winston-Salem. Duke just finished its regular season action last Sunday by beating Wake Forest 3-1. Unlike baseball, in soccer it's not often that two teams will face each other twice in the same week.
"You don't know what to expect, normally, except what you hear in a scouting report, but we do know because we just played them," freshman goalkeeper Isis Dallis said.
Duke expects today's game to be very different from the last time these two teams met. In Sunday's game, the Blue Devils came out sluggish and drained because of their close game with No. 1 North Carolina just three days before. They were unable to show the Deacons all that they are capable of doing.
"We have to come out harder than we did on Sunday," coach Bill Hempen said. "We have to be more mentally prepared and focused."
The Blue Devils, seeded second in the tournament, will face the seventh-seeded Demon Deacons in the first game of the first round of the tournament at 6 p.m. Should they win, they would play the winner of the game between third-seeded Maryland and No. 6 N.C. State.
Although Duke has already beaten Wake Forest, it's not going into this game overconfident. The Demon Deacons are led by forwards Stefanie Mathews and Cheryl Zimmerman. Mathews leads the team in scoring and points this season, while Zimmerman is the Deacon's all-time leading scorer.
"We're playing in the prime-time game," senior Andi Melde said. "They'll have lots of fans and their men's team will be there. We just have to go out with more intensity, give it all we have and know we can win."
The freshmen on the team are excited and anxious to play in their first ACC tournament.
"We don't know what to expect," Dallis said. "We listen to everyone talking about [the ACC Tourney], and I have great expectations. It should be an exciting weekend."
For the seniors on Duke and Wake Forest, it will be an emotional night as they battle for more than the right to continue in the ACC Tournament.
The seniors on Wake Forest constitute the first class ever to be recruited for the four-year-old Demon Deacon team. Wake is on the bubble of making the NCAA tournament and a win over Duke would surely help its cause.
For Duke's seniors, it will also be an emotional tournament.
"It's our last ACC tournament which is a reason to get fired up," Melde said.
"In the latter part of the season, for the seniors, everything is the last time doing it," Dallis said. "They have been emotional, but inspiring."
Duke is not only playing for the ACC title, but it is also looking to secure a high seed in the NCAA Tournament. For now, though, the NCAAs are not the top priority.
"We're not showing up at the ACCs to go have fun and prepare for the NCAAs," Dallis said. "We're playing to win."
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