Season openers dictate the tone and intensity for the remainder of the season. And with a handful of senior leaders surrounded by an inexperienced roster, that first opportunity to come out of the gate strong is all the more important for Duke.
In Tuesday night’s matchup against James Madison(0-0) in Koskinen Stadium, the Blue Devils(0-0) need to come out with ferocity—making tackles and winning fifty-fifty balls.
“We have to be sharp on Tuesday,” head coach John Kerr said. “We have to take every game seriously and make sure we’re lively and ready for any competition.”
The bout with James Madison cannot be overlooked simply because JMU is not an ACC team, as the Dukes could pose some problems if the Blue Devils aren’t as crisp as they need to be.
Despite the dominance that a 4-0 score suggests, last Saturday’s game against Greensboro College was an unimpressive display by Duke. The Blue Devils won based on athleticism and an overall higher skill set, not through teamwork.
That approach to ACC soccer will surely fall short, as the talented teams can match up with Duke on the individual level, espcially with opponents Maryland, UNC and Wake Forest—the top three teams in the country, respectively—on the schedule.
Instead, the Blue Devils must continue to develop their passing and movement off the ball if they hope to be successful in the regular season. Kerr stressed the need for proper transition up the field.
“We need to work on the movement together from defense to the midfield, midfield to forwards,” Kerr said.
Unity and teamwork were certainly the two main themes of the preseason, both of which are developed through precise ball movement up the field. And although the Blue Devils have yet to assume these identities, the preseason was a success in making progress in these areas.
Duke can only view ending the preseason with two wins and a tie as a positive performance. Senior center back Matthew Thomas and freshmen Ryan Finley and James Belshaw have been particulary impressive
If the team continues to progress and build off its strong preseason, it could see some late-season theatrics.
“The preseason went as well as it could have,” Kerr said. “We got answers to some of the questions we had before the preseason started. The puzzle still isn’t finished though—we still have a lot of things to work out.”
Tuesday night’s game will lay the groundwork for the remainder of the season, and for that foundation to be well constructed, the Blue Devils need to consciously work together and display a consistent team effort.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.