With nine starters back from the team that appeared in the Sweet Sixteen last year, plus a couple of key additions, Duke is poised to make a deep run in the NCAA tournament.
The first test for the No. 1-seeded Blue Devils (17-3-1) comes this Sunday, when they host the Big South conference champion Radford (15-5-1) at 2 p.m. in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Duke enters this year’s bracket with higher expectations than in recent years. Two years ago, the team barely made it into the tournament with an 8-9-4 overall record and fell in the first round. Last year, the Blue Devils had a better record than the year before, but still finished below .500 in conference play. They won two tournament games before falling to Oklahoma State.
This season, though, they boast the regular-season ACC title and the top seed in their region as they contend for a national championship.
“The past two years we’ve come a long way, from barely making the tournament to making the Sweet Sixteen,” junior defender Erin Koballa said. “Now, I think we have big expectations this year, and I think we can achieve them.”
With five freshmen starters in 2009 and four first-year starters in 2010, the past two squads have both been incredibly young.
Nevertheless, last year’s run, which included both a comeback win and penalty shootout victory, gives this year’s team a better understanding of how to compete on the national stage.
“It was very important for us to make a deeper run in the tournament last year, and to get that experience and get used to playing one high level after another high level,” head coach Robbie Church said.
Because Duke has struggled at times to score early in games this season, adopting a win-or-go-home attitude for tournament time may prove valuable for the Blue Devils. The nine starters returning from last year’s tournament team may provide the leadership necessary to bring about this approach.
“In NCAA tournament time, there’s no lapse time,” said Church. “If there’s been anything with us this year—and there hasn’t been much—it’s at times we’ve had a little bit of lapse at the beginning of games.... They realize that once a game kicks off, we’ve got to focus, we’ve got to concentrate and we’ve got to really put our stamp on the game.”
Although the returning starters provide a very strong foundation, two additions to the lineup give the Blue Devils an even greater advantage. Sophomore defender Natasha Anasi, who earned ACC defensive player of the year honors, has led Duke’s back line to the nation’s seventh-best goals against average, and freshman forward Kelly Cobb led the team in goals and points despite a midseason ankle injury.
This year’s Blue Devils may also face an easier path to the championship than their predecessors. Last year, Duke had to open play at a neutral site against a California team led by U.S. national team star Alex Morgan and appearing in its 12th tournament in 13 years. In contrast, Radford is making just its fifth tournament appearance in school history, and the Blue Devils will enjoy the luxury of playing in the familiar confines of Koskinen Stadium.
Still, Duke will not be taking the Highlanders lightly. Forwards Sahar Aflaki, Julie Ruh’e and Mary Wiley, who have combined for 20 goals on the season, give the Highlanders multiple scoring threats.
“I was very impressed with their top three players,” Church said. “We’re going to have to be sharp in the back because they can score and they score quickly.”
Having just completed eight weeks of play in the nation’s most competitive conference, unfamiliar foes may be a welcome sight for Duke.
“I think the key is nameless, faceless opponents,” Koballa said. “We don’t really know much about these teams. And I think as a team, we respect every other team enough to bury them in the ground.”
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