It hasn’t been a picture-perfect start to the season for Duke.
Pegged a top-5 team in the first poll of the year, the now-No. 19 Blue Devils have had some growing pains in their first month, namely on the offensive side of the ball.
After a 20-goal outburst in the season opener— albeit against overmatched Siena in the friendly confines of Koskinen Stadium—Duke (1-2) has mustered only 10 scores in the last two contests, including a three-goal output against Pennsylvania last Saturday that marked the lowest-scoring game of head coach John Danowski’s tenure.
“It was a really funny game statistically,” Danowski said. “We grade our team in seven different areas, and in six areas we graded as high as you could grade.... But in the box offense, we were 1-of-24, which is the lowest since I’ve been here. Not only were we 1-for-24, but we turned the ball over 21 times with 11 different people, so it wasn’t just one or two guys. It was a bit of a matter of chemistry, it was a bit of a matter of guys playing together—older guys playing too much, younger guys’ third game, and it made for a bad mix.”
The Blue Devils had similar difficulty out of the gate in 2009 and 2010, losing two of the first four games each season, so the team is accustomed to working its way up the standings.
In the past, though, Duke had the luxury of a more experienced lineup. Now, the team will be forced to sort out its chemistry issues quickly when No. 3 Maryland (2-0) comes to town for the conference opener Saturday at 1 p.m.
“We’ve had a great focus this week because it’s Maryland and it’s an ACC game,” midfielder Justin Turri said. “They’re a great team so we’re really prepared and ready to give them a good game Saturday.”
The Terrapins have had a near-opposite trajectory than the Blue Devils to start their year.
Led by 15 seniors, the veteran Maryland squad has won each of its first two contests by 12 points. The Terrapins hung 20 goals against Georgetown on the same day that Duke managed only three against the Quakers.
“They’re very explosive offensively,” Turri said. “They have a couple of guys that can shoot the ball really, really well with an inch of space, so we’ve been focusing on doing everything right, especially in transition, not letting them get breaks.”
In order to combat that powerful offensive unit, the Blue Devils have been focusing on winning the ground ball battle and not committing turnovers. With a younger team, Danowski has stressed a return to fundamentals to keep his team relaxed.
“We’re hoping that just being good at the little things will allow guys to think less, play faster and play with confidence,” the head coach said.
Maryland’s offensive style should also allow Duke to play freer Saturday. The Terrapins, who have won their last two meetings against the Blue Devils, like to run up and down the field and play a similar tempo to what Danowski’s Duke teams have played in the last four years. Turri acknowledged that he and his teammates appreciate playing at a faster pace rather than being bogged down in a battle of possession.
But against a team that is capable of scoring on a moment’s notice, the Blue Devils will have to come out strong to avoid falling behind early.
“We’re going to have to play really well,” Danowski said. “The hope is, like any game, you want to get off to a good start.”
Duke hasn’t had the best start this season, but a strong opening effort against Maryland could go a long way towards changing the team’s narrative for the rest of the year.
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