As the Blue Devils embarked on their journey south to Georgia for the subregional round of the NCAA tournament, head coach Robbie Church was feeling peachy about his team's preparation for South Carolina (14-6-2).
"We are happy with what we have been able to come up with the last couple of days," Church said.
Duke (8-5-6) clashes with the Gamecocks at 4:30 p.m. in Athens in the second-ever meeting between the two squads.
The Blue Devils had to get creative in order to get information on its opponent, studying film of early non-conference games to try to formulate a game plan. South Carolina presents a challenge for Duke as it plays a 4-5-1 formation, putting more players on the defensive side of the ball.
"I'm interested to see, I think a key will be the midfield match-up," Church said. "It's going to be a lot of three vs. three, and it is probably going to end up being a lot of one-vs.-one marking."
Duke, though, is not lacking in strength or numbers in a talented and deep midfield, led by first team All-ACC selection Lorraine Quinn. Sophomores C.J. Ludemann and Jane Alukonis will also lead the midfield attack, and freshmen Kendall Bradley and Marybeth Kreger provide fresh legs off the bench. Church is optimistic about the matchups, saying that Ludemann and Alukonis are playing the best they have played all year.
The Gamecocks, however, have plenty of talent and experience as well. One intangible advantage that goes to South Carolina is the sense of urgency among the team's veterans. The Gamecocks start six seniors and are making only their second appearance in the tournament in school history and first since 1998. South Carolina started the season strong, winning its first seven games, including a season-opening upset of then-No. 1 North Carolina.
The Blue Devils, on the other hand, are a relatively young team that only has one senior that sees significant playing time. Church noted this disadvantage was a concern, but he hopes it will not be too much to overcome.
Fortunately, Duke has on-field advantages to combat its inexperience. A recent bright spot has been the sharp play coming from goalkeeper Allison Lipsher. Church said that the senior has taken her game to another level since finding out Duke received another life with its bid to the NCAA tournament. Lipsher has not allowed more than two goals in any match this season, a streak the Blue Devils hope to extend.
One streak that Duke would like to end, however, is its scoring drought in postseason play. The Blue Devils have played more than 405 minutes since their last goal in an NCAA tournament contest. Church said that what he has seen recently in practice has the potential to end the dry spell.
"We are very, very close of busting out with a number of goals here." He said. "And this would be a pretty good weekend to do that."
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