Fresh off a weekend in which it defeated two ranked teams on the road, No. 12 Duke is gearing up for a showdown with a bitter rival.
The Blue Devils (7-5, 1-2 in the ACC) take on defending national champion No. 2 Maryland (12-0, 2-0) Saturday at 1 p.m. in their last home game of the year.
Duke knows that the game will be highly contested.
"We've got to come out and play hard," head coach Beth Bozman said. "We always have great games with Maryland. It's going to be a battle."
The Blue Devils hope that their success in Boston this past weekend can help them improve their recent track record against the Terrapins.
Including postseason play, Duke is 1-4 against Maryland over the past three years. In the Terrapins' last visit to Williams Field, the Blue Devils were blanked 2-0.
Duke knows that in order to upset the defending champs this time around, it must maintain a high level of play.
"We're really an inspired road team," junior Laura Suchoski said. "We have to translate that intensity to home games now. It's a great set-up where we just went 2-0 on a weekend for our biggest game of the year."
Maryland enters Saturday on a 12-game win streak, tying the most number of consecutive wins in the history of the program. They are led by two-time All American senior goalkeeper Kathryn Masson.
The Blue Devils are not daunted, however. The Terrapins' talent is just one more reason why Duke wants to win this game.
"It adds a lot of fuel to the fire," junior Marian Dickinson said. "We really don't like Maryland as a team."
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