After trekking up to Connecticut and down to Alabama the past two weekends, the 17th-ranked Blue Devils return to Durham this weekend, excited to finally play at home again.
Duke (5-2-1) is looking forward to a weekend without a hectic travel schedule and a chance to defend its home turf in the Duke/adidas Classic at Koskinen Stadium. The Blue Devils open with Florida (3-2-1) at 7:30 p.m. tonight and play Marquette (2-2-2) Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
"We are thrilled to be home," senior Sarah McCabe said. "Road trips are taxing mentally-there's no escape. We're all glad to be home in front of our fans, on our field, in our comfort zone."
Away from home these last two weekends, the Blue Devils won both their Friday games but dropped both Sunday matches. Duke's goal differential in Friday games is plus-seven, in contrast to a minus-one total in Sunday contests. In order to win its host tournament, Duke must maintain its level of play throughout the entire weekend.
"We just have to concentrate the whole game, come out with a lot of intensity and just get better every time," senior Darby Kroyer said.
The Blue Devils hope playing in front of a home crowd at Koskinen will help reverse the recent trend of weekend splits.
"I think that we feel a sense of pride in defending our turf," McCabe said. "It makes a difference in games on Sunday. Maybe we would have had a little more bite if we were defending our own turf. We'll have that as an added bonus this weekend."
In its tournament, Duke will face two teams that began the season ranked in the top-25 but have since dropped out. The Gators last played Sunday, beating Jacksonville, 7-0.
"Florida is a very athletic team, but they can also play," head coach Robbie Church said. "They've got a lot of technical players. It's going to be a great challenge for us."
Marquette is another squad capable of an upset, playing a scrappy style that could test the Blue Devils. Last year, the Golden Eagles advanced to the third round of the NCAA tournament before losing to eventual runner-up UCLA.
"Marquette is one of the hardest working teams that we'll see," Church said. "You always have to be ready to work hard when Marquette comes to town. They're going to try to outwork us, and we can't let them do that."
After giving up three goals in the second half of its 4-3 loss to Kansas last Sunday, Duke will counter by making some positional changes this weekend. Sophomore Christie McDonald will move from forward to center back on defense, freshman Jane Alukonis will move from center back to a midfield spot and freshman Elisabeth Redmond will play forward instead of midfield.
Duke hopes the changes will bolster the defense without affecting its attack.
"Our offensive unit has just been connecting really well," McCabe said. "I think that we're really trying to play together. So far, it's been working."
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