The fourth-ranked men's lacrosse team got what it wanted, and now stands just one win away from the Final Four.
Duke (13-2) received its first ever first-round bye,-given to the nation's top four teams-in the NCAA Tournament. The bye gave the Blue Devils an additional week of rest and set up Saturday's 3 p.m. contest with fifth-seeded Georgetown at Hofstra Stadium in Hempstead, N.Y.
"Getting a bye was a goal for us," coach Mike Pressler said. "It's something we've never done before and we're very proud of it."
Duke spent the bye week cleaning up fundamentals but, more importantly, getting some much-needed rest and recovery time. After taking the weekend off, the Blue Devils are back practicing and focusing on Georgetown.
"Our seniors were able to go to graduation and we were able to take care of some nagging injuries," Pressler said. "We are now very healthy, very rested and ready to go."
The Hoyas (12-2) advanced to the round of eight with a 14-10 win against Notre Dame this past Saturday. Georgetown's victory set up this weekend's second round matchup between two teams very familiar with each other. Pressler and Georgetown coach Dave Urick have known each other since 1986 and their two programs meet frequently.
Back in March, Duke beat the Hoyas 10-8 in Washington. The Blue Devils' offense never got off the ground but Duke dominated the Hoyas defensively and controlled the faceoff. And although Pressler was pleased to get a road win against such a high-caliber opponent, he was not completely satisfied.
"That was a game we won, but we weren't pleased with the way we played," Pressler said. "We were very good defensively, but we were careless on offense. We didn't value the ball and we didn't play the way we've been coached to play."
That was the only time all season the Hoyas were held to single digits in scoring, a testament to their strong attack unit. Georgetown averages 15 goals per game, making it the third most prolific offense in the country.
"Georgetown is a team who wants to outscore you," Pressler said. "They're not comfortable in single-digit games.... We did a good job on their entire attack."
In fact, Duke did such a good job that the front line was held to just four goals on the afternoon. Seniors Greg McCavera and Scott Urick anchor the Hoyas' attack and will undoubtedly try to make amends for their weak performances in March.
McCavera is one of the nation's leading scorers, finishing the regular season with 40 goals and 37 assists. Urick, meanwhile, had a tremendous regular season, racking up 41 goals while dishing out 17 assists.
Last time out, Duke defender Steve Card held McCavera to just three goals, only one of which came in the first half.
The Blue Devils may need a similarly strong performance from the junior Saturday.
"Steve did a great job," Pressler said. "He really held down McCavera.... McCavera is one of those guys who has the ability to score in a lot of ways. He's their lead pony."
But the Georgetown attack has several ponies, creating what should be a great matchup between the Hoyas' front line and Duke's vaunted defense.
Should Duke keep the ponies in the barn, the Blue Devils may very well play in the program's second ever Final Four, placing them one step closer to their season goal-to win a national championship.
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