A team that was supposed to be winning games with its prolific offense is suddenly stifling its opponents with overpowering defense.
And the wins have followed.
Duke has not given up a goal since a 2-1 loss to Florida Atlantic Oct. 14, and its back line has led the way to a tie with top-ranked Wake Forest Oct. 18 and a much-needed victory over No. 19 Virginia Saturday. But the most impressive aspect of the Blue Devils' current 296-minute shutout streak may not be the caliber of opponents against which it has come, but who exactly has done it-or, more precisely, who hasn't.
Senior captain Graham Dugoni has been sidelined for all of those contests with a broken foot, which he suffered Oct. 10 against North Carolina and which will keep him out for the rest of the season. And tonight against Colgate (8-4-3), the defense will face yet another challenge: Fellow captain Darrius Barnes is out after receiving a red card against the Cavaliers.
"It's obviously a loss for us with our two leaders out, but we have some real capable players that are comfortable back there and have played there before," head coach John Kerr said. "Whoever's going to be in the back there is going to be fine."
Duke (8-5-2) has not decided who will start on the back line at 7 p.m. tonight in Koskinen Stadium. Defender Matthew Thomas and forward/defender Trae Harrison came off the bench Saturday to help the Blue Devils' defensive effort, which held the Cavaliers at bay long enough for Mike Grella to tally the game-winner on a penalty kick in overtime.
Duke will need a similar contribution from its reserves against a low-scoring Raiders squad that has had eight of its games decided by one goal or less.
"Darrius being out is definitely a big loss for this team, but I think we have a couple players that are willing to step up," Thomas said.
The Blue Devils were just beginning to gel defensively, as evidenced by their two-week shutout streak. The loss of their senior leader at this critical point may require an adjustment period that Duke does not have time for.
"It definitely puts a lot of pressure on us," senior goalkeeper Brendan Fitzgerald said. "It will be a new group. We haven't had much consistency on the back line due to injuries, and now with Darrius' red card, it's going to fall on me and Pav [Castaneda] to just really make sure we're communicating well."
Kerr has tried several of his players at different positions at various points this season-whether in games or in practice-so finding a capable replacement for Barnes could end up being relatively easy.
The harder part may be accounting for the leadership that he and Dugoni provide. The suddenly stalwart Blue Devils won't just be missing two of their best defenders tonight. A relatively young team will also be without its two leaders.
"We're going to miss them, there's no getting around it," Kerr said. "When you have Pav and Mike Grella to roll onto as vice captains, for example, we're going to be fine."
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