The No. 18 Duke women’s soccer team has made a habit of starting its seasons with difficult matchups, and for the third year in a row it looks to knock off a top-20 ranked team on the opening weekend of action.
“The first weekend we’ve always tried to play a quality out-of-conference opponent, which will give us a quick look at where we are,” head coach Robbie Church said.
The Blue Devils are making the long bus journey to Knoxville to take on the 11th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers Friday night and will return to Durham for a Sunday night contest with Elon.
“We’re really kind of setting the table,” Church said. “We have two quality opponents.... It will really let us know where we are physically and where we are mentally.”
The showdown with the Lady Volunteers poses some intriguing matchups as two of the nation’s best midfields square off. Church has been raving about Duke’s depth at that position with captain Casey McCluskey, juniors Carmen Bognanno and Shelly Marshall, sophomores Darby Kroyer, Lauren Tippets, and Rebecca Moros and top-25 freshman Lorraine Quinn, all ready to contribute significant minutes.
“One of their strengths is one of our strengths—their midfielders,” Church said. “They’ve got two very good midfielders. That’s the engine of their team.... That’s the key, who wins that midfield battle.”
Church described Tennessee as a very aggressive, swarming team that puts a lot of pressure on the ball. Maintaining composure and keeping possession will be the key to a potential Blue Devil victory.
“We’ve played them twice since I’ve been here,” McCluskey said. “They are a very hardworking team. I wouldn’t say necessarily scrappy, but they’re all athletic and they work really hard. It’s going to be a battle.”
If Duke can prevent Tennessee from “[creating] a lot of offense through the defense,” as Church suggested they like to do, then the team will likely be able to capture its third consecutive win against the Lady Volunteers. The last two came on penalty kicks and in overtime, respectively.
Whether they start the season with a victory or not, getting ready for Sunday’s home opener against Elon will not be easy. Because of travel arrangements, the Blue Devils will not return home until Saturday afternoon, when they hope to hold a brief practice.
Elon begins the 2004 season under new coach Matt Clark, so the Blue Devils do not have a firm grasp on what to expect from their in-state opponent. Although the Phoenix were defeated easily in the preseason by Wake Forest, the long trip to Tennessee could take the energy out of the Duke players and make the contest closer than it should be.
“It’s a tough weekend because we play one of the top teams Friday night and drive back six and a half hours on the bus and hopefully get a short practice in Saturday,” Church said.
So long as Duke can maintain its mental focus Sunday night, its athleticism should carry the team to a victory.
“I think they try and play similar in their style to the way we do,” Church said. “I think we might be a little bit more athletic than they are, but it depends on how we bounce back.”
The Blue Devils are excited about the opportunity to make a statement this weekend by knocking off a highly-touted Tennessee squad and then returning to Durham and beating Elon in their opener at Koskinen Stadium, which is still undergoing renovations.
“The nice thing is we have a veteran team and they’ve been through these wars before,” Church said.
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