Duke’s postseason eligibility hangs in the balance of its final matchup of the regular season.
Heading on the road unbeaten in their last seven matches, the Blue Devils can clinch a spot in this year's ACC tournament with a win against Clemson Friday at 7 p.m. at Riggs Field in Clemson, S.C.
“It’s an interesting ending to the season,” head coach John Kerr said. “There’s a lot at stake in this game, but we know it and understand it. We have to take the bull by the horns and understand that our fate is in our own hands, because if we win we’ll definitely get the seventh or eighth spot. If we get a win at Clemson we’ll be very excited.”
With their shutout against Pittsburgh last weekend, the Blue Devils crept up from 10th place to sit in the eighth and final slot in this year's conference tournament.
A win against Clemson (10-5-2, 5-3-2 in the ACC) would ensure Duke (7-4-6, 2-3-5) a spot in the tournament. With a tie or loss, Duke would need some help to make the tournament field. Ninth-place Syracuse, facing Wake Forest this weekend, and 10th-place N.C. State, which will square off with North Carolina, each sit within two points of the Blue Devils and could edge them out of the field with a win.
Both the Tigers and the Blue Devils have struggled to score this season, averaging just 1.53 and 1.41 goals per game, respectively. Clemson’s most potent offensive weapon, Thomas McNamara, ranks fourth in the ACC with seven goals on the season and has added seven assists.
“He’s had a great season, and he’s very active,” Kerr said. “I think the biggest part of our defensive scheme is to understand where he is at all times. He likes to exploit the space from midfield.”
Duke will look to freshman forward Brody Huitema—who was recruited by the Blue Devils from British Columbia as a pure goal-scorer—to put the ball in the back of the net. After a prolific scoring streak in the middle of the season, Huitema has scored just one goal in the past seven games.
The Blue Devils will play a more possession-oriented game Friday to combat the Tigers' style of play, Kerr said, and the duo of junior defender Nat Eggleston and junior midfielder Sean Davis will be key.
“Once we win balls back, we have to make sure we keep it,” Kerr said. “They try to win the ball back right away, but if we can keep it and move it to the open space for our benefit, then we’ll be in good shape. Eggleston and Davis will have to really shift around and put pressure on their midfielders, because Clemson has a really talented squad. [They] will be the catapults for us once we win the ball back.”
Duke’s defense will also be a key to its victory. With shutouts already this season against highly-ranked North Carolina and Virginia teams, the Blue Devils have proven that they can match up defensively with competitive teams. Goalkeeper Alex Long, who is third in the ACC with 67 saves and six shutouts on the season, will be an important asset to the Blue Devils.
Kerr said that Long, along with the Blue Devil defenders led by senior Sebastien Ibeagha, will have to work hard as a unit against the Tigers.
“The main thing to get the win is to have really good organization defensively,” Kerr said. “We have to be communicating and shifting as a team cohesively and not get separated, because they’re very good at attacking space and finding openings in the final third. If we don’t shift properly, then we could find ourselves in trouble because they’re quick to exploit opportunities.”
With its postseason life on the line, a win or tie against Clemson would continue Duke’s unbeaten streak right when it needs it most.
“It would be a huge boost to our mentality,” Kerr said. “Clemson’s a very good team, and they’ve beaten a lot of very good teams along the way this season. Winning down at Clemson is never going to be easy, so we have our work cut out for us. But getting the win down there would be a big boost going forward. We’re peaking at the right time.”
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