Disappointment and optimism don't usually mix together too well. One doesn't really fit with the other, and they are often mutually exclusive.
For coach Liz Tchou and her field hockey team this season, the terms somehow merged after a 10-10 season kept Duke out of the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year.
"I'm very disappointed because I think we were much better than our record indicates," Tchou said. "You look at our schedule, we could've been 13-7. I think we're a better team than we were last year. We've basically shown to the field hockey world that we're a legitimate top-15 team."
Coming into the season, the Blue Devils knew that they had to overcome the loss of all-time leading scorer Melissa Panasci and do so against what Tchou called perhaps the toughest schedule in the country.
Duke struggled against the top teams, posting an 0-8 record against NCAA qualifiers. Yet half of those losses were by just one goal, showing just how close the Blue Devils were to a winning season.
"No one else was going to determine if we were going to make the tourney or not," Tchou said. "We had many chances to upset teams. I felt like we were in every game.
"I put this team through a lot as far as the schedule goes. If we want to be the best, we have to play the best."
Tchou recognizes what Duke needs to move among the nation's very elite. She said the Blue Devils were brought down by "pockets of inconsistent play" throughout and an inability to possess the ball inside its 25 wore Duke's defense down at the end of several games.
In the end, the Blue Devils' problem in shutout losses against Old Dominion, Penn State, UNC and Princeton was, logically, offense.
"I think we needed [our forwards] to step up more in critical times of the game," Tchou said. "We needed a few more players to take the leadership role and want the ball. I just don't think we have that killer instinct inside the 25. We struggle to find that final pass.
"I still think for us to break through and be a top eight team, we need more poise. That's going to be the mark of a great Duke team. We're just not there yet."
There were, of course, many bright spots for the Blue Devils in 1998. Jenn Robb, with very little experience coming into the season, took the goalkeeper's job and never let go of it, posting three shutouts.
With Hallie Smith and Sarah Doherty held back by injuries early, Robb got her chance and made the most of it.
"She's ultra-competitive, this kid," Tchou said. "Every run, every drill, she's going to go 100 percent. She's improved tremendously."
Leading scorer Corey Ceccolini also improved tremendously and asserted herself on offense from the very start. Her play will be even more important looking ahead to next season, as the Blue Devils lose mainstays Emily Ford and Mary Jo Reider on the attack and Trina Santomauro on defense.
"We're losing our whole right side," Tchou said. "We're going to miss those guys. They've played together for a long time in those positions. They've been a huge part of the growth of this team."
It is a growth that Tchou feels is still on target. She said the team was better tactically this year, and as time goes on, her philosophy is only more embedded in her players.
"I hope every year it gets easier with the team understanding what my philosophy is," she said. "Do I think we need to work harder? Definitely. Would I change certain things I did this season? Yes. I look back at every season and what I could've done differently. I could've done a number of things.
"It's hard when you're so close. We're going to be better from it. We're going to benefit from [our tough losses] more than other teams that had cake schedules."
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