In the Blue Devils' last three away games, it seems as if the road has acted as an extra defender, preventing Duke from finding the back of the net in each outing.
The Blue Devils were able to come away with scoreless ties against Miami and Virginia, but their offensive impotence finally cost them Sunday.
No. 11 Duke (12-4-3, 4-3-3 in the ACC) failed to score in its final regular-season game, losing 1-0 to Virginia Tech (10-7-2, 4-4-2) in Blacksburg, Va., in what was the team's fifth away game out of its last six matches.
Although the Blue Devils struggled on the road, posting a 1-2-2 record in the closing five-game stretch, they emerged from Sunday's defeat with a clear picture of what they need to do to find success in the postseason.
"We've got to get back and be a hungry team," head coach Robbie Church said. "That's going to be the key. How much do we want to win?"
Duke seemed anything but hungry in the first half against Virginia Tech as the Hokies dominated the Blue Devils, eclipsing them 7-2 in shots and beating them to numerous balls.
It was senior day for Virginia Tech, and Church said he knew the Hokies would throw everything they had at his squad in order to make their case for an NCAA tournament berth.
Senior Laurie Beth Puglisi headed in what proved to be the game-winning goal off a corner kick in the 16th minute of the contest. The rest of the game was mostly a defensive battle as Duke fell into Virginia Tech's style of play, sophomore midfielder Marybeth Kreger said.
Instead of sticking to its possession-oriented style, Duke began launching more balls through the air and never threatened on offense, tallying one shot on goal for the entire game.
Church was disappointed with his team's performance, but he said he has no doubt that the Blue Devils can rebound from the loss with the proper preparation.
"When we walked out of the stadium, we put [the loss] behind us," he said. "We've played so many games on the road. We need to rest, get our legs back, watch some video and really get more aggressive on the offensive side."
Even though Duke did not achieve its goal of placing in the top-four of the ACC standings-the team finished fifth-it cannot afford to harbor any negative sentiment with the start of the postseason only two days away.
"We're kind of feeling down about the way we've been playing," Kreger said. "We need to forget about it, move on and come out hard, wanting to win and wanting to fight the entire 90 minutes."
The Blue Devils will certainly need that fighting spirit against No. 13 Boston College Wednesday in their ACC tournament opener. The two teams fought to a 0-0 tie during the regular season, and after making a first-round exit last year, Duke does not want history to repeat itself.
But now that they are back home, hardened by a slew of road battles, the Blue Devils seem ready to make a final charge.
"There's so much to play for," Kreger said. "As long as we play our best game, I don't think many teams can match up with us."
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