After getting over the initial disappointment and shock of not hosting the opening rounds of the Women’s College Cup, Duke has “turned the page” just as it has done all season long, head coach Robbie Church said.
The No. 18 Blue Devils (13-7) have spent this past week preparing for Friday’s opening round matchup with Virginia Commonwealth (15-6), which will get underway at 7:30 p.m. in Charlottesville, Va. The winner will face either third-seeded Virginia or James Madison Sunday with a chance to advance to the Sweet 16.
Duke has been resilient this season rebounding from its setbacks and defeats. The Blue Devils only lost consecutive games once, when Maryland and North Carolina beat them in the final two games of the regular season. In the game against UNC, however, Duke fought to a 2-1 loss but the team said that it played some of its best soccer of the season.
The Blue Devils have not advanced past the second round in their last seven appearances in the tournament, a streak that dates back to 1994. But the team believes that this year may be its chance to get back to the SAS Soccer Complex in Cary for the College Cup Final Four.
Virginia Commonwealth received an automatic bid after winning the Colonial Athletic Association title for the first time in its school history and dedicated the season to Nicole Megaloudis, a team member who died in a February car accident.
The Blue Devils are coming off both a 4-2 loss to the Tar Heels in the conference tournament semifinals, during which Duke had led 2-1, and the letdown of not hosting the first two rounds of the tournament.
The Blue Devils are looking to bounce back against VCU, a challenging opponent who has some “soccer savvy” international players, Church said.
“They’re very strong in the middle and that is something that we have to be aware of,” defenseman Rachel-Rose Cohen said. “This is a tournament so every team is going to come out and play their hardest. So we just have to come out and play just as hard or even harder.”
ACC Offensive Player of the Year Casey McCluskey has led the way all year with 16 goals. Junior Carolyn Riggs has found her stride late in the season, scoring four goals in the team’s final three games. Against the Rams defense, which has held opponents to a goal per contest, the Duke attack will have to continue clicking.
“Our forwards have been doing well, Riggs has really stepped it up,” sophomore Darby Kroyer said. “She’s been getting goals and stuff, and we all know that Casey can get a goal or two. We’re just relying on everyone to do what they’ve been doing all year.”
The Rams have a different formation than Duke is accustomed to playing, and Church said the VCU players are particularly skilled and creative down the middle of the field.
Although the Blue Devils are not overlooking Virginia Commonwealth, Duke is eager to get a chance to play Virginia, the ACC Tournament Champions, after losing to them 2-1 earlier in the season. The Cavaliers beat top-ranked North Carolina in a shootout to win the schools’ first ACC title.
“I think that everyone knows to be the best you have to beat the best,” Kroyer said. “So if we want to go all the way we’re going to have to meet UVa eventually. I think that if we start off strong, and if we do beat UVa, we’ll have a better edge to try and beat all the rest of the teams after.”
The tournament will be the last for seniors McCluskey, Lauren Simel and Kate Straka, a group that began the same year that Church took over as head coach. Although McCluskey has earned many accolades during her career, postseason success has always eluded her and her teammates.
“We’ve had some good regular seasons here,” Church said. “We’ve been ranked in the top 20 in all the polls and we’ve done all that, but I think a lot of your legacy goes on what you do in the NCAA Tournament. We would like to obviously do things. We’d like to not only get out of the second round but to the Final Four.”
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