Defense wins championships-Duke senior goalkeeper Justin Papadakis has proven that to be more than just a tired cliche.
Papadakis, now in his third year as the Blue Devils' starter, has led Duke to two ACC championships in as many years and played a significant role in the Blue Devils' run to the national quarterfinals last season.
After logging a 1.16 goals-against average and .671 save percentage his sophomore year, Papadakis improved to 0.84 and .773, respectively, in 2006. And he has not allowed a goal in the first two games this year.
His steady presence in the net is one of the major reasons for Duke's recent success, especially in close games like Sunday's contest against Valparaiso, a 2-0 Blue Devil victory.
"Papadakis is who you want in goal," junior forward Mike Grella said. "[He] is a great goalkeeper to have back there just in case they do get through the back four [in a tight game]."
In 2005, Papadakis' clutch play helped give Duke the ACC championship over North Carolina. After playing to a scoreless tie, the teams went to penalty kicks to decide the conference title.
With Duke down 4-3 and facing a heartbreaking loss to its archrival, Papadakis made a diving save on Dax McCarty to keep the Blue Devils' championship hopes alive. After Blake Camp converted on his attempt and tied the game for Duke, Papadakis again shut down the Tar Heels, this time turning away Stephen Bickford. That set the stage for Grella's game-winner in the sixth round of the shootout.
Papadakis gave a similarly big performance in the 2006 ACC Championship game against Wake Forest. He notched a shutout, and Grella again scored the title-clincher-this time in the seventh minute of overtime-as the Blue Devils won their fifth ACC title.
Coming off those back-to-back conference championships, No. 4 Duke (2-0) has high expectations again this year.
"Obviously, being our senior year and the talent that we had coming into this year, I knew this was going to be a big year," Papadakis said. "I've learned a lot from the past two years, and I think it's all coming together for me personally."
Despite all the success Papadakis and the Blue Devils have had the last few seasons, one thing is still missing-a run deep into the national tournament.
Top-seeded Duke was stunned in overtime by eighth-seeded UCLA in the quarterfinals last year. The loss has given Papadakis-who said he trained vigorously in the offseason to prepare for his senior year-additional motivation as the season gets under way.
"There's extra incentive this year for a couple reasons," Papadakis said. "[Last] season didn't end like we wanted it to, We're all playing for Coach this year-this is his last year-and for the senior class... this is our last go at it. We've had a blast playing at Duke and we want to end it on a high note."
So far, Papadakis has done his part to ensure that dream becomes a reality. He picked up the 17th shutout of his career against Valparaiso, and was in line for another Friday against Delaware before being pulled for backup Brendan Fitzgerald.
Papadakis' continued stellar play will be important if the Blue Devils are to avoid a finish like last year's.
"You don't win big games without having a very good goalkeeper," head coach John Rennie said. "And he's proven that, so we feel very good [with him in net]."
Now, Papadakis and the Blue Devils are out to prove they can reach the biggest game of all.
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