It’s Tuesday, which means Duke will play its weekly nonconference game.
This time, though, the opponent will be stronger than the usual challengers.
The No. 19 Blue Devils (5-3-4) take on High Point (10-2-1) in Koskinen Stadium tonight at 7 p.m. The Panthers come into the game with seven consecutive wins and an offense that will put Duke’s defense to the test, creating problems for sophomore James Belshaw in front of the net.
“We are taking them just as seriously as an ACC opponent,” head coach John Kerr said. “We use the same reports, watch video and run the same practices.”
With only five regular season matches remaining until the start of the ACC tournament, Kerr is looking for the Blue Devils to finish strong and break out of a recent slump in which the team has won only one of its last five games.
“We need to take one game at a time and get some ‘W’s,’” Kerr said.
Returning to Koskinen Stadium should be refreshing for Duke, which lost 2-0 at UC Santa Barbara and tied 0-0 on the road against N.C. State in its last two games. And although the Blue Devils only have three losses in their first 12 matches, senior captain Cole Grossman is disappointed with some aspects of the team’s recent performance.
“We’re obviously struggling to score,” Grossman said. “We aren’t keeping the ball well which means we aren’t creating chances.”
Grossman is looking for Duke to play aggressively on offense and win the ball back with pressure.
Kerr attributed the team’s recent struggles to the decisions the Blue Devils have been making on the attack. He believes that being direct and decisive, especially late in matches, is key to breaking out of this drought.
“We need to be more deliberate in the final third,” Kerr said. “We need to take advantage of openings and get good spots.”
Although the offense has been relatively quiet of late, the defense is playing particularly well, especially Belshaw. Belshaw said that, except for a few errors, the defense has been very strong this season.
“It took a few games for us to get into it,” Belshaw said. “Since then we’ve been doing very well.”
The defense must keep up the pace tonight against the Panthers, paying special attention to junior Karo Okiomah who leads High Point with 11 goals. Okiomah will head a Panther squad that enters tonight’s matchup with the momentum that Duke has been searching for all season.
A win over their latest nonconference opponent might help the Blue Devils reverse the tide and start a winning streak of their own.
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