Half an hour before Duke and Army face off Saturday at 12 p.m., paratroopers will jump onto the Manhasset High School field to deliver the game ball.
Clearly, the contest is not just another game on the Blue Devils' schedule.
No. 2 Duke (12-1) faces former assistant coach Joe Alberici's Black Knights, and the proceeds of the game go to the Lead the Way Fund, which was established in honor of former Blue Devil Jimmy Regan to help families of injured Army Rangers. Regan, a native of Manhasset, N.Y., was killed in Iraq Feb. 9, 2007.
A total of 5,000 tickets, the maximum available at the high school venue, have already been sold, and a large portion of those have been designated as standing room only.
"[The Lead the Way Fund has] different events, but right now this is their highlight event, and we're delighted to be part of it," head coach John Danowski said. "It was Army's home game, and Mr. Regan actually came up with the idea [to play at Manhasset H.S.], and he approached Coach Alberici, who coached Jimmy when he was here. So it's got all sorts of ties-it's got the West Point ties, the Duke ties, Coach Alberici and the Rangers, the whole bit."
With all the ceremonies surrounding the game, Duke is not looking past No. 8 Army (9-3) to a looming ACC tournament semifinal game against North Carolina April 25. In fact, Danowski has spent the week instructing the team to settle down, expecting the Blue Devils to be fired up at the prospect of playing another game in a packed stadium-this time in honor of one of their own.
The Black Knights' play of late would make it difficult to look past them at this point in the season regardless of the festivities Saturday. Army took down Navy last weekend for the first time in 14 tries, launching the Black Knights into the top 10.
On the season, Army scores 9.92 goals per game while allowing just 6.33. The Blue Devils' high-paced offensive attack has averaged an NCAA-best 16 goals per game this year, so something will have to give in this battle of contrasting styles.
"I don't think they play as uptempo as some of the teams we've played so far this season," midfielder Sam Payton said. "They would like to see more of a 7-6, 8-7 game as opposed to us, who would rather see a 15-14, much higher-scoring game. That's kind of been the story all year, and I think we're trying to just impose our will on every team we do play against."
The Black Knights, like Duke, try to score in transition if they can. But if that fails, they prefer to slow down the pace, playing a deliberate game that has frustrated the Blue Devils in the past. Geogetown played a similar style in its 11-7 win over Duke March 22.
"We play differently than a lot of people," defenseman Tony McDevitt said. "You could start playing, and next thing you know it's up and down or it's slowed down.... What we really try to do here is impose our style on other teams, so if we're successful at that, then there won't be much of an adjustment."
Duke is not planning to alter its style, Danowski said. The Blue Devils have relied on their transition game all year, and Army's preference for a slower pace will not change that.
Duke's motto this week has been 'Don't be satisfied.' That is especially the case with the circumstances surrounding the game.
"We played in Long Island a couple weeks ago where there were 6400 people," Danowski said. "We go to Virginia, and it's sold out. We come here, and again it's on the road.... But it's going to have a different feel to it-people standing around the edges. It's going to be great, and again it's just another great opportunity for our guys just to have a great experience, which is ultimately what you want."
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