Last weekend, the field hockey team's win over Delaware was heralded as its biggest win in two years.
Its biggest win, that is, since a dramatic 2-1 last-second victory over Maryland in 1996 at the East Campus Turf Field.
This Saturday, No. 9 Duke travels to College Park, Md. looking to replicate that victory against seventh-ranked Terrapins and topple its second top-10 opponent in a row. Sunday, the Blue Devils face Virginia Commonwealth in Charlottesville, Va.
"Our focus is to go all out this weekend," coach Liz Tchou said. "We're going to leave a part of ourselves on both turf fields."
Against the Terrapins, the Blue Devils (7-5, 0-2 in the ACC) may have an easier time than they did in 1996, when Maryland was ranked third in the nation.
The Terrapins (8-5, 2-1) are usually regarded as one of the country's elite teams, but struggled early this season with losses to Rutgers, Delaware and Princeton.
Lately, however, the Terps have rebounded with a vengeance, toppling then-No. 1 North Carolina, 5-0, Oct. 11 and crushing Bucknell, 9-0, Tuesday night.
Meanwhile, the Blue Devils have cracked the top-10 in the rankings for the first time since 1996.
"We have some important games coming up and we're not really concerned about the rankings," Tchou said. "But it's nice to know that other teams are giving us national recognition."
For Duke, the game against the Terrapins is a chance to prove that the Delaware win was not a fluke.
"This Saturday, it's really important for us to do well," Tchou said. "It's a higher emotional level playing against an ACC team."
The Blue Devils' last conference game, a 3-0 loss to Wake Forest, was an important wake-up call.
"We learned a ton from that loss," Tchou said. "It has helped us become better prepared."
The win over Delaware gave the Blue Devils an emotional boost, but still left them without a conference win.
Although VCU (7-8) had a 28-game losing streak in the Colonial Athletic Conference coming into the season, this year's Rams have shown drastic improvement from past teams.
"They're an up-and-coming team and they're going to be tough," Tchou said. "We don't take anyone lightly."
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