After two frustrating years, the men's soccer team is finally happy.
And with a No. 2 national ranking, a 13-1 record and a 4-1 ACC mark, it's not all that surprising.
The numbers themselves, though, are far from telling the whole story. While its win-loss record and ranking are nothing to sneeze at, Duke believes the difference between this season and the previous ones is more mental than physical.
"Not only are the results favorable, but the team has really bonded more than we've done in the past; we're getting along better," senior Eric Otto said. "We're winning, and we're enjoying being together, in practice and hanging out off of the field. It's fun to be on the team."
Nevertheless, the Blue Devils' record is not without question marks. They have recorded crucial victories, including an upset over conference rival and then top-ranked Clemson, but their one loss of the year came against an unranked squad-Maryland, their nemesis.
Moreover, some of Duke's wins have not come as easily as would be expected of the second-ranked team in the country. In their victories over Iona, the College of Charleston and Radford-all unranked-the Blue Devils had to rally from behind. Against Radford, the game went to overtime before they could pull out the win. In its contest with Davidson, a 2-0 shutout, Duke played over 76 minutes before finding the back of the net.
The Blue Devils' strength of schedule, or lack thereof, could also play into their postseason fate. Only two of their wins have come against ranked opponents thus far. The question of whether Duke can take on the big guns and come out successful may have to wait until the postseason to be answered.
"You never know how good a team is until the season's over," Otto said.
As the Blue Devil offense has sometimes taken a while to warm up, Duke considers its greatest strength to be defense. The Blue Devils have recorded nine shutouts and have only allowed their opponents a total of seven goals thus far this season.
Even a slew of injuries hasn't stopped them. Despite a season-ending injury to starting defender Dwayne Harris and a knee injury that has kept forward and 1997 leading scorer Ali Curtis off the field for several games, Duke has kept on rolling.
"It depletes our squad, but the guys who stepped in have been performing well," forward Troy Garner said. "We haven't missed a beat at all."
Where the Blue Devils would like to improve is in the consistency of their play. Far too often, Duke feels, it lets up at critical moments-especially after scoring a goal-thus giving its opponents a window of opportunity to steal momentum. If the Blue Devils could play for 90 minutes without allowing these kind of lapses to occur, they believe they would be able to defeat any opponent.
"Sometimes we lose focus after scoring goals, and we let the other team get back in the game," Garner said. "All we need to do is keep our focus throughout the entire game."
These lapses reared their ugly heads most visibly in Duke's 3-2 overtime loss to Maryland, a contest in which Otto says, "we were the better team for 70 minutes." After racing out to a 2-0 first-half lead, the Blue Devils allowed the Terps to even the score in the second stanza and then nail the game-winner in overtime.
Duke's success the rest of the season will largely depend on whether it allows any more games like the Maryland game to occur.
With only four regular-season games remaining, the Blue Devils don't run too great a risk of replicating that loss. Their most challenging obstacle before the postseason will be this Saturday's contest against perennial rival Virginia. Duke hasn't defeated the 11th-ranked Cavaliers since 1995, when it staged an overtime upset over the Cavs in the NCAA Final Four.
A win would give the Blue Devils the top seed and a first-round bye in the ACC Tournament, putting one less game between them and the ACC title. But such a win would also give Duke more intangible advantages.
"If we win, not only would we get a first-round bye in the ACC Tournament, but it would look good in the eyes of the NCAA selection committee, and it would give us more confidence," Garner said.
That advantage in the ACC Tournament could very well determine what happens afterwards. If the Blue Devils win the conference title, they will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
After two straight years of being denied a berth, and being passed over in favor of teams with less wins and weaker schedules, the frustration has made Duke hungry for a postseason bid. The squad would rather assure itself of a slot at NCAAs with an ACC Championship than leave the matter to the selection committee.
"You never know about the NCAAs," Otto said. "I'd like to win the ACC Tournament and take it out of [the selection committee's] hands. If we get the automatic berth, we won't have to worry on selection day."
And if the Blue Devils can make the NCAA Tournament and succeed there, they'll really have something to be happy about.
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