In Boston College's first season in the ACC last fall, Duke fell to the Eagles during the regular season but got its revenge with a 2-0 win in the ACC tournament.
With Duke (5-4-1, 1-1 in the ACC) in need of a conference win, the Blue Devils face No. 25 Boston College (7-2, 1-0) tonight at 7 p.m. at Koskinen Stadium. Even though it's still early in the season, Duke knows how important this game is.
"It's a big game, no question about it," head coach Robbie Church said. "We lost to them up there last year and then we beat them in the ACC tournament. We've already developed a nice little rivalry with them."
Boston College is 1-0 in conference play after Sunday's 3-0 victory over Clemson and Duke fell back to .500 in conference play after Sunday's loss to Virginia.
The Blue Devils were picked fourth in the ACC coaches preseason poll while the Eagles were picked fifth, making tonight's matchup key for Duke in terms of helping its NCAA tournament case and cementing its status in the upper echelon of the conference.
"Every ACC game is huge," forward Christie McDonald said. "BC is a good opponent, so we always enjoy playing them. We're really excited about the game."
In just their second season in the league, the Eagles are ranked in the upper tier of the conference. BC leads the ACC-and is second in the nation-in scoring with 3.56 goals per game.
The Eagles' Gina DiMartino leads the league in goals and Kia McNeil is the ACC leader in points per game.
"They've got some talented attacking players," Church said. "We're playing well defensively. I think the last four games for us, I'm very, very happy with our backs and our midfielders from a defensive standpoint and our forwards from a defensive standpoint. We've got to just play good, solid defense here."
On the offensive side of the ball, the Blue Devils will look to put pressure on the Eagles. Virginia held Duke scoreless in last Sunday's 1-0 game in Charlottesville, Va.
"We've got to keep possession, create opportunities and score goals," Church said. "When we create opportunities, we've got to be able to finish the opportunities and score the goals."
Over the past few days, Duke has focused on shooting and working to create scoring opportunities in the offensive zone. The Blue Devils will also focus on playing hard for the full 90 minutes, goalkeeper Allison Lipsher said.
"That's something we've sort of struggled with," she said.
McDonald agreed that mental toughness will be key.
"We need to go out, play hard, play with intensity," she said.
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