League wins are crucial in a conference in which all six teams are ranked eighth or higher nationally.
No. 4 Duke (7-2, 1-1 in the ACC), fresh off a thrilling overtime win over sixth-ranked North Carolina, will shoot for its second straight ACC victory this weekend, when No. 7 Boston College (8-2, 1-1) travels to Durham for a match Saturday. The Blue Devils will also face Harvard (0-8) in a non-conference tilt Sunday.
"Every ACC game is important," Duke head coach Beth Bozman said. "We're at the halfway point, and every game is crucial for us."
The 2-1 win over the Tar Heels last Saturday gave Duke its first ACC win of the year and a confidence boost after a tough 4-3 double-overtime loss to No. 3 Old Dominion Sept. 17. After surrendering their 1-0 lead with five minutes to go in regulation, the Blue Devils scored the game-winning goal when senior midfielder Amy Stopford scored on a penalty stroke 11 minutes into overtime.
Although the Blue Devils gave up a late lead, Bozman said she was happy with the way her team closed out the game.
"It was good to not be up on a team and let them back into the game, like we did against Old Dominion," Bozman said. "We slacked off a little bit in the second half against UNC, but then we got our act back together enough to get a win."
With a schedule that includes only five conference games, the Blue Devils need a win over the Eagles in order to find some breathing room in the ACC. Duke expects Boston College, which is coming off a 1-0 win over No. 8 Virginia, to give them a tough test Saturday.
"They are a very strong team," Stopford said. "We are going to focus on playing our game, and hopefully things will take care of themselves."
The Eagles roster includes the ACC's assist leader, midfielder Katie Quaglia, and forward Bob Dirks, who ranks third in the conference with nine goals. Dirks scored the lone goal against the Cavaliers Sept. 22 and has at least one goal in each of her last three games.
Still, the Blue Devils hope to find success on the offensive end against a Boston College defense that allows a league-worst 1.49 goals per game.
"We have seen teams similar to them," Bozman said. "But what is important is that this is an ACC game, and we want to place ourselves well going into that [conference] tournament."
Although Harvard is winless this season, they have played well against ranked competition. The Crimson lost to both No. 10 Connecticut and No. 15 Providence by a single goal.
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