The 13th-ranked Duke men's soccer (1-1) team starts its home schedule this weekend at Koskinen Stadium in the 18th Duke/Adidas Classic.
Duke opens the Classic Friday at 7:30 p.m. against the Richmond Spiders, then faces the South Florida Bulls Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
The Spiders and Bulls present two very different challenges for the Blue Devils. Richmond specializes in low-scoring affairs, preferring to rely on its defense and wait for an opportunity to go to the goal.
"Richmond is a very defensive-oriented team," coach John Rennie said. "It's a very difficult team to score on. They want to win the game 1-0. They'll find a way to counter-attack or score on a free kick and beat you 1-0."
The Blue Devils faced a similar challenge last week against Northeastern in the Adidas Wolfpack Invitational. In that game, however, the Blue Devils were unable to convert on scoring opportunities, losing 1-0.
"You have to get behind [Richmond's] defense," Rennie said. "That's very similar to Northeastern. They'll spend a lot of time letting you play. They'll meet us at midfield. It's very difficult to get behind a team like that. But, we were able to do it against Northeastern. We got through by using the flanks and changing the field, and we were able to get great chances. But unfortunately, we weren't able to score."
Richmond will test Duke's ability to get offensive players loose, while the Bulls will put the pressure on the Blue Devils' defense.
"South Florida, although their coach is only in his third year, always has a lot of talent and flair," Rennie said. "They try to be a very offensive team. So they are a totally different challenge."
But it is not its opponents that present the biggest worry for Duke this weekend. The Blue Devils have had horrible luck thus far with injuries to key players.
"We have two guys out for the year, or pretty much the whole year," Rennie said. "Scott Noble and Victor Victorsson were penciled in as starters. When you lose good players for a while, it is kind of a blessing. But we've lost two starters for maybe the whole season, so there goes your depth. When you lose anyone else, you're kind of struggling with rookie players."
Unfortunately for Duke, they've lost additional players for the Classic. Rennie does not expect either Trevor Perea or Robert Antoniou to play against either Richmond or South Florida this weekend.
Perea, who, along with Donald McIntosh, anchors the Blue Devil midfield, missed the Northeastern game with a strained groin. Antoniou, a starter on defense, suffered a pulled groin in that game.
"The team is playing very well right now," Rennie said. "The players are still learning about one another. We did not have Trevor on Sunday [against Northeastern], but we still played well. We just have to work through [the injuries]. Hopefully this is just a short-term problem with Trevor and Robert."
The fourth team in the Classic, who the Blue Devils will not play, is N.C. State. The Wolfpack will open the tournament with a game against South Florida Friday at 5 p.m.
The Classic champion is determined by a points system. Two points are awarded for each victory, and one for a tie. Goal differential is used as a tie-breaker in the event that two teams wind up with the same number of points.
Duke will look to win its fourth consecutive Classic championship and its 10th overall title.
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