Just three games into the season, the women's lacrosse team has already accomplished many of the goals it had set last fall-earning a national ranking, winning a game in Atlantic Coast Conference play and notching a win over a quality opponent.
With impressive performances in the preseason, Duke started out the regular season ranked for the first time ever its three-year existence. Less than a week later, Duke upset then-No. 1 Maryland and has continued on its ascent in collegiate lacrosse.
This Sunday, No. 4 Duke (3-0) faces its first real test away from home when it takes on the sixth-ranked Princeton Tigers at Princeton, N.J. A victory against Princeton means another quality win and step in a positive direction for the program. However, a road win against the tough Princeton team will not come easily.
"Princeton is very tough physically and mentally," coach Kerstin Kimel said. "They have a strong, fast lineup with great stature at every position. This is one of the toughest games of the season for us."
While Duke seeks to earn its first NCAA Tournament bid this year and establish itself as a winning program, Princeton is looking to rebound from a sub-par season last year when it finished with a .500 record and missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1991.
Last year was also only the second time that Princeton did not advance to the Final Four in the past six years. A possible explanation lies in the absence of the team's emotional sparkplug, Cristie Samaras, who took a personal leave of absence from the team.
The fiery midfielder acts as the catalyst for the Tigers and gives the squad a needed boost on both ends of the field. With Samaras and a group of experienced seniors back this year, Princeton seems poised to return to national prominence.
Duke, in contrast, fields an upstart team with young players and a young coach looking to build the program into a consistent winner. Sunday's game will serve as a gauge to measure Duke's place among the elite.
"We play and will continue to play a lot of freshmen and sophomores," Kimel said. "We look at each game as the most important one of the year."
A win Sunday will take Duke one more step toward its overall goal of finishing the year with a winning record and earning an NCAA Tournament bid come May.
The Maryland win and the national ranking will mean nothing to the NCAA Tournament selection committee if the Blue Devils don't continue to win and establish themselves as a legitimate tournament team.
If things continue to go as planned for the Blue Devils, however, they won't have to worry too much about impressing the committee because their performance will speak for itself.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.