All season long, Duke has felt it can beat anyone in the country-it just needed a chance.
The Blue Devils were given that opportunity Monday when they earned an at-large bid to the 64-team NCAA tournament field. Duke (9-8-2) will travel to Knoxville, Tenn. Friday night to play No. 22 Louisville (13-4-2).
But when the Blue Devils gathered Monday afternoon at Devine's to learn their fate, they were less concerned with their first-round matchup and more worried about simply getting into the tournament.
"If we were playing [North] Carolina the first game, that would have been fine with me," senior Darby Kroyer said. "We worked too hard to not make this tournament."
A collective cheer erupted within the restaurant when the bracket was revealed-ending days of anxiety for Duke since its early exit from the ACC Championships last Wednesday. Accompanying the cries of celebration, however, were sighs of relief.
The Blue Devils had plenty of reasons to be nervous heading into the selection show. They ended their season with two losses-albeit against No. 18 Wake Forest and No. 6 Florida State-and finished seventh in the ACC standings.
Apparently, though, the strengths of Duke's resumé were too significant for the selection committee to ignore. The team had three wins over ranked squads and played a tough schedule that was accentuated by its competitive ACC slate. The ACC and the Big East placed the most teams in the tournament as both received seven bids.
"I felt we deserved to be in, but you never know until you see your name on the board," head coach Robbie Church said. "But once they close those doors, you're not quite sure exactly what's going to happen."
After a quick celebration, Church turned his focus to Louisville, a Big East team that also earned an at-large selection.
The Blue Devils and Cardinals played just one common opponent-Louisville lost to Marquette, 1-0, Oct. 15, and the Blue Devils tied the Golden Eagles, 1-1, Sept. 17.
Despite a relatively tough first-round pairing with the Cardinals, Duke could not be more excited about kicking off Friday night, if only because it provides a chance for a fresh start.
"If we play 90 minutes of aggressive, focused soccer, we can play with anyone in the country," Church said. "This gives us an opportunity to show that we're actually a better team than our regular season shows."
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