Three games into 2008, Duke has yet to allow a goal.
But this weekend, for the first time all year, the Blue Devils will face off against the type of elite competition they are used to.
No. 12 Duke (3-0) takes the field with Kentucky (1-1) Friday at 5 p.m. and No. 5 Notre Dame (3-0) Sunday at 1 p.m. at Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill as part of the Carolina Classic.
And foraying into the meat of the schedule is a challenge the Blue Devils are willing to accept-especially when it comes to Notre Dame, the team that eliminated Duke in the national quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament last season.
"People think Notre Dame's going to win the game," head coach Robbie Church said. "Let's go and play."
The Fighting Irish advanced to the Final Four by virtue of their win over the Blue Devils last year and have averaged more than two and a half goals per game in seven of the last nine campaigns. Nine starters return from a team that tallied 19 wins in 2007.
Naturally, Duke is intent on slowing Notre Dame's offensive firepower.
"We always go into games looking for shutouts," Church said.
"There's no pressure letting that first goal in, but [a shutout] definitely is the goal," senior defender Christie McDonald said.
The Blue Devils have blanked all three of their opponents so far this season, highlighted by a 9-0 win over Coastal Carolina and a 4-0 win over Campbell in which the defense did not allow a shot on goal.
Most recently, Duke shut out UNC-Greensboro Sunday. The Spartans made the NCAA tournament in 2007.
And while Kentucky and Notre Dame are the opponents on the field, the Blue Devils are aware of another team that will be watching from the bleachers-tournament host and Duke nemesis North Carolina.
The Tar Heel fans have a history of making their hostile feelings about the Blue Devils abundantly clear.
"[UNC] usually watches part of our game," McDonald said. "Their fans start coming in at the end of the game and... let us know they're there."
Sophomore Gretchen Miller, who played two games in the annual Carolina Classic last season, echoed her teammate's sentiments.
"Every time we messed up they would boo us," Miller said. "We want to show them that we'll be ready."
While winning an early-season tournament would be a mental boost, Church downplayed the significance of the location, claiming that Duke has more important things to worry about-its second opponent, for one.
"Notre Dame's an elite team in the country... our goal is to win this tournament," Church said. "We can't control what Carolina does."
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