Last year, the Duke men's soccer team finished 4-3 in a tough ACC conference that featured three teams ranked in the top 10 in the final regular season NSCAA poll.
With five ACC teams ranked ahead of the No. 21 Blue Devils in the top-25 this year, Duke's quest for its first conference title since 1999 will not be an easy one.
The journey starts Sunday, when the Blue Devils open conference play against No. 14 Wake Forest at 7 p.m. in Koskinen Stadium.
The Blue Devils will attempt to rebound from their first loss of the season, a 4-1 defeat at the hands of St. John's Sept. 11. Duke split their two games at the Duke/adidas Classic last weekend, beating College of Charleston, 3-2, in overtime before losing to the Red Storm.
Weak second halves have plagued Duke this year. The Blue Devils have outscored their opponents 6-0 in the first half, but have been bested 7-2 after halftime.
"We need to play mentally tough and physically strong for 90 minutes," Duke head coach John Rennie said. "That's what we've been working on and that's what we need to do."
The Demon Deacons are only the first in a line of tough ACC opponents that Duke will face this year in conference play. UNC, Virginia, Maryland, and Clemson join Duke and Wake Forest in the top-25.
"There are no easy games in the conference," Rennie said. "I don't think any one is more important than the others. They are equally as critical."
The Demon Deacons return to Koskinen Stadium with an inexperienced squad, unlike the one that lost to the Blue Devils 3-2 in the 2004 regular season finale.
"Wake Forest has a very different team from last year," Rennie said. "We don't know what to expect from them. We just know they've had a tremendous start and a lot of talent."
A crop of 14 freshman replace a record-setting senior class that led Wake Forest to a 14-5-2 record in 2004. Senior All-American forward Justin Moose who has 1 goal and 5 assists on the season leads the Demon Deacons this year. Moose is coming off his best game of the season, during which he tallied a school record four assists in the first half of a 5-1 win over Rutgers.
Duke expects to return to the strong team defense that it boasted in its first two games, while also pressuring Wake Forest on the offensive end. Sophomores Tomek Charowski and Paul Dudley are still injured, so current points-leader Chris Loftus, as well as forwards Spencer Wadsworth and Mike Grella, will lead the Blue Devil offense. The Demon Deacon defense has only allowed two goals this year while scoring nine, including seven in the first half.
"Both of these teams have started fast in their games," Rennie said. "So we hope to start faster."
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