The men's lacrosse team faces an uphill battle starting Friday at this weekend's ACC Championships in Chapel Hill.
The team, having gone 0-3 in the ACC this season and 4-6 overall, is the No. 4 seed in the tournament action.
"This year we didn't have a lot [of expectations]," head coach Mike Pressler said. "We're in a rebuilding process. Our goal is just to be the best team we can be. We certainly hope to be in the hunt for an NCAA tournament bid."
In its first matchup of the championship, a "must win situation" for the team, Duke will face top-seeded Maryland (8,2, 3-0). The Blue Devils fell to the Terrapins March 6 by a score of 17-12, with Maryland's Joe Walters scoring four goals and assisting for two more to lead the team.
Duke's offensive strike was balanced with nine different Blue Devils contributing to the tally. Peter Lamade led the team with three goals, while Chris Haunss contributed a team-high five assists.
As of late, the offense has not been as strong for Duke. During the first five games of the season, freshman Matt Danowski led the Blue Devils' offense, scoring 15 goals and racking up 10 assists. However, Danowski has recently faced tough defense, cooling his offense.
Maryland's strong defense will not ease the Blue Devils' offensive woes. The Terrapins had two preseason first team All-American defensemen, Chris Passavia and Lee Zink. Tim McGinnis, a graduate student who previously played three years at Gettysburg College and was the 2002 National Goalie of the Year, has served as a solid base for the Terrapins in the net this season. Against Virginia April 3, he recorded 17 saves in the team's 11-2 win and had 14 saves in March 27th's 10-9 win over UNC.
"We're playing [against] the best defense in lacrosse right now," Pressler said. "But we need to control the game defensively."
On the defensive side, Duke will face a Maryland offense that has scored double figures in seven of its 10 games this season. However, the Blue Devils have shown strong defense recently, including an April 10th loss to a No. 2 Johns Hopkins squad by a score of 6-5, in which Duke goalie Aaron Fenton recorded 20 saves for the team. Third-ranked Maryland is also coming off a 14-10 loss to Johns Hopkins, a game in which it was out shot 52-32.
After peaking at No. 5 in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association national rankings in mid-March, Duke has lost five-straight games to end the regular season at 4-6. During the losing streak, the Blue Devils fell to both North Carolina and Virginia, who are the two and three seeds, respectively, in this weekend's competition.
If Duke is able to get past Maryland, it will face the winner of the UNC-UVa matchup.
Although the Blue Devils have lost to both ACC teams, the game versus UNC went into overtime and ended with the Tar Heels edging out the then- No. 16 squad, 10-9.
However, according to Pressler, the team cannot look past its matchup against one of the best programs in the nation Friday.
"With our conference, beating Maryland would be such a monumental win," Pressler said, noting that the team has beat Maryland in the last three ACC tournaments.
This game will determine the rest of the Blue Devils' season, as they must win the tournament to secure an NCAA tournament spot.
"Our backs are against the wall and unfortunately we have to win, but we've done that in the past," Pressler said. "Our guys know what is at stake, and they know how to win."
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