Coming off a commanding 5-0 victory over Temple Sept. 24, the No. 11 Duke men's soccer team is preparing to face Longwood, a team that is in just its third year competing against Division I opponents. The game is set to begin tonight at 7 p.m. at Koskinen Stadium.
The Lancers (2-5-1), who struggled to a 1-16 record a season ago, are currently in the process of transitioning their men's soccer progam to the Division I level.
Duke will be the second ranked team Longwood faces this season, as first-year head coach Jon Atkinson attempts to acclimate his team to the higher level of competition it will face in its new division.
"Our goal right now is to gear up for conference play," Atkinson said. "We would like to be able to compete with the strong programs in our conference and would like to be prepared for a possible playoff berth in 2007, when we become eligible for the Division I playoffs."
Longwood enters Tuesday's contest winners of its last two games and are focused on using games like tonight's to help build its program. The Blue Devils are aware that their opponent will be hyped up for the contest, midfielder Zach Pope said.
"Everybody comes in, and Duke is their big game," Pope said.
Fortunately for the Blue Devils (5-1-1), the team is coming off their best offensive showing of the season, a game in which they passed the ball particularly well senior midfielder Blake Camp said.
"Whenever we possess the ball, move the ball around and keep the ball moving, I don't think there is a team in this country that came stay with us," Pope said.
Although the Lancers are confronted with an imposing challenge, Atkinson told his team to focus on their individual development rather than on the game's eventual outcome. The coach added that while the Longwood squad has a number of talented players, including sophomore forward Todd Runey who has scored four goals this season, the team's best asset is its ability to play as a cohesive unit.
"Our strength is our excellent team chemistry, collectively we are strong as a team," Atkinson said. "I would like to think of us as a solid blue collar team trying to grow as a program."
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