Out on the East Campus turf fields, Duke's field hockey team has been practicing hard all week to get ready for Saturday's Carlyle Cup match at North Carolina.
While UNC has dominated for many years, this year's Blue Devils are optimistic, unintimidated and ready to play.
Coach Liz Tchou credits her team with a great deal of consistency and poise, and explains that through the first part of the season, "they have been working well together.... The chemistry has been really good.
"We're just trying to find the balance of over-zealous and too cautious."
The strengths of the team seem to be coming from all positions. Tchou believes the 2001 defense has been the strongest since the start of her tenure and that the offense has "really been our strength; they've been working really hard."
Senior co-captain Angie North, also a senior, credits junior Chrissy Ashley as a key strength in the midfield. Ashley contributed a goal in the Blue Devils' victory over Richmond last Saturday.
"I don't think [UNC] can really handle her," North said.
While the captains and coaches are clearly excited about this team, they do recognize their weaknesses. In respect to Duke's two losses, which were against Louisville and William and Mary, both games ended with a score of 2-1.
"Both games we were up 1-0," Tchou said. "We were protecting our lead instead of going out on attack."
Co-captain Liz Bateman agrees with her coach's assessment.
"We weren't playing well when we scored, so we never felt the need to step it up," she said.
Bateman also mentioned that both games were ones that the Blue Devils had felt they were going to win. Now, Bateman is ready to face UNC yet again. After playing the Tar Heels twice a year for the past three years, the seniors know what to expect from a team that has beaten Duke on 44-straight occasions.
Nonetheless, the Blue Devils remain fearless about their upcoming contest.
"We are very aggressive, which will really help against UNC," she said.
The Blue Devils (5-2) are currently ranked 10th in the nation. UNC, after losing to Kent State in overtime and dropping Wednesday night's game to Wake Forest, is ranked second.
Even with two losses, the Tar Heels have fared well. Abby Martin, a senior midfielder, was recently named ACC field hockey player of the week and also serves as a member of the U.S. national team.
Tchou understands the tough challenge that her team faces.
"You have to give UNC credit," she said. "They've had an unbelievable tradition in field hockey.
"Streaks were made to be broken. We have nothing to lose.... We have the heart to do it, and the talent.... It's just a matter of putting it together."
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