Prior to the 2004 men’s soccer season, few expected Duke to be serious contenders in the NCAA. Loaded with young talent, the Blue Devils won their first 11 games of the season and rode the momentum all the way to a final four berth—the fifth in school history.
In 2005, with 10 of 11 starters returning, nearly everyone expects No. 3 Duke to challenge for a national title.
“I guess there’s a little more pressure being ranked so high as opposed to last year when we kind of snuck up on people,” senior forward Danny Kramer said. “We have a target on our back, so teams are going to give 110 percent to try and knock us off.”
Kramer, the team’s leading goal scorer from a year ago, is one of many exceptional playmakers for Duke’s offense, which finished last season ranked sixth in the nation. Fellow senior Blake Camp made the Hermann Trophy Watch List, given annually to the best player in the nation, for the second consecutive year after earning third-team All-America honors last season. He will be a force in the midfield along with speedy sophomore Zach Pope. Junior Chris Loftus and sophomore Paul Dudley, 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-7, respectively, will provide the foundation of the team’s strong physical presence on crosses into the middle.
At forward, the indefatigable sophomore Spencer Wadsworth, whose 26 points last season were second on the team, looks to continue to be the thorn in the side of opposing defenses, and he will be joined by incoming freshman Mike Grella out of Glen Cove, N.Y. Grella was the NSCAA High School player of the year last season and a two-time Parade High School All-American.
Sophomore midfielder Michael Videira, who led the Blue Devils with 15 assists as a freshman, joins Camp on the Hermann Trophy Watch List and is Duke’s only member of the Soccer America All-America team. Tabbed as rookie of the year by both Soccer America and the ACC in 2004, Videira will need to continue his role as the point-man of the offense for Duke to play up to its preseason billing.
“Everybody on this team is a serious soccer player,” Camp said. “It’s the first time it’s been like this in a long time.”
On the defensive end, the team will feature a slightly different look. With the departure of goalkeeper Justin Trowbridge, one of Duke’s top performers in 2004, the unit will look to sophomore Justin Papadakis to fill the void in the net.
“From the moment Papadakis came in to now, he’s made vast improvements not only physically but mentally,” Loftus said. “He’s someone we have a lot of confidence in as a team, and we’re expecting some big games from him.”
Also adding to Duke’s new defensive look is the team’s new formation, a 4-3-3 alignment, which will give the team a fourth defender. Freshman center back Graham Dugoni will join the three returnees—stalwart junior Danny Miller on the right side, steady sophomore sweeper Tim Jepson in the back and third-year starter Kyle Helton on the left.
“The formation is different and we’re still getting used to it,” head coach John Rennie said. “This is just more balanced from a positional standpoint, and gives you more numbers and quality all over the field if you can afford to play it.”
The team will need to put behind them last year’s embarrassing 5-0 loss to Santa Barbara in the national semifinals, and focus on the loaded ACC. Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, Wake Forest and Boston College join Duke to give the conference six teams in the preseason top-25.
“The loss mostly just left a chip on our shoulder,” Loftus said.
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