The women's soccer team had a light practice yesterday, taking penalty kicks, watching video and running simple drills following the conclusion of a grueling regular season. Head coach Robbie Church even called in speed and conditioning coach Jeff Howser from the weight room to stretch out the sore Blue Devils.
But at the end of practice, with all the players huddled around and their hands touching, Church did not lose sight of what was next. "It's tournament time, ladies! Tournament time," he exclaimed.
Coming off a statement win against conference rival Maryland last weekend, fourth-seeded Duke (12-5-1) heads into the the ACC Tournament tonight at 8 p.m. at SAS Soccer Park in Cary, taking on fifth-seeded Virginia (12-4-2) in the first round for the fourth year in a row.
Two and a half weeks ago, the Blue Devils shut out the Cavaliers 1-0 in Duke's best game of the season on offense and defense, one in which they attacked within their quick, scurrying, possession-oriented style of play that has been absent for much of the season. But a 1-0 ACC loss to Clemson a week later sent Church and his players back to the drawing board before another 1-0 game, this one a huge regular season-ending win over the Terrapins Friday that put Duke back in the groove.
"I think we're attacking better right now. After the Clemson game, we changed some things in attacking. We felt we were keeping possession of the ball, but we felt like we were not dangerous. Since then...I thought we were more dangerous," Church said. "So I think we have to do that--we've got to attack. Sometimes in tournaments, you get a little conservative. And we can't do that."
And even though the Blue Devils are seeded higher than the Cavaliers in the ACC bracket, Virginia is ranked ninth, eighth and fifth in the three major national polls to Duke's respective No. 10, No. 18 and No. 14 positions. But the Wahoos have lost three of their last four games, with their only victory coming over lowly Liberty. Their three-game conference losing streak started with Duke's Oct. 18th win, and even though the teams have been going in different directions since, Church warned to be wary of a fired-up opponent.
"We'll see a different Virginia team," he said. "We'll see a team that will come out and play a little bit harder, probably a little bit more physical than they did the first time. We've got to play better tomorrow night than we did the first time against them."
If the Blue Devils come out on top, North Carolina, ranked No. 1 in the tournament and in the country, awaits in Round Two Friday night. But for now, Duke has to overcome the first round--where a win could solidify home field advantage for the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament--and keep attacking the ACC.
"I think the tournament is going to be much more intense [than ACC regular season play], just because we're fighting for a home bid," sophomore Carolyn Ford said. "This could be a really good win for us, and they're fighting--they've lost three of their four games. So it's going to be really intense."
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