The men’s soccer team (14-5, 4-4 in the ACC) will host its first-round matchup in the NCAA Tournament against Coastal Carolina (14-7-1) Friday at 7 p.m. The contest at Koskinen Stadium, will be the first ever men’s soccer game between the Blue Devils and the Chanticleers.
“We don’t know much about Coastal Carolina,” senior goalkeeper Justin Trowbridge said. “We’re just excited about having a home game, it’s definitely an advantage in the tournament.”
Should Duke prevail against Coastal Carolina, the team will travel to Norfolk, Va., to play 12th-seeded Old Dominion, who earned a bye in the first round. If the Blue Devils are to advance even further, they will need to reproduce some of the magic they had at the beginning of the season.
“The way the freshmen and the veterans have gelled this year has been amazing,” senior striker Nigi Adogwa said. “We just need to come out more focused and energetic in order to win.”
ACC rivals North Carolina, Wake Forest, Maryland and Virginia all made the tournament—the Tar Heels are the only conference team besides the Blue Devils that did not receive a first-round bye. The Demon Deacons, Terrapins and Cavaliers are the tournament’s first, third and fourth seeds, respectively.
Duke could do no wrong in the first five weeks of the season, and many credited the freshman insurgence for the team’s rejuvenation and 11-0 start. Over the last five weeks, however, the team has lost five out of eight, and some are wondering if a team full of freshmen is capable of succeeding in the postseason.
With the opening round of the NCAA Tournament only three days away, defensive leader Danny Miller has heard enough speculation about his team.
“It’s the end of the season, these guys have played 19 games already,” Miller said. “They’re not really even freshmen anymore—it’s not an excuse.”
Several players expressed feelings of confidence heading into the tournament, and despite Duke’s losing record over the past eight games, there are many valid reasons for this optimism. The team has lost only one game by more than one goal, and Oct. 23 the Blue Devils forced double overtime against ACC Champion Virginia despite a two-man disadvantage.
“It’s not so much tactics as it is getting tougher mentally,” Miller said. “The difference in our losses hasn’t been skill—it’s just that we really need to grind it out. In the tournament it’s going to come down to who wants it more.”
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