After dropping their conference opener to a top-five opponent, the Blue Devils will take on the best team in the nation when their local rivals make the trek to Durham.
Duke squares off against No. 1 North Carolina Friday night at 7 p.m. at Koskinen Stadium. The Blue Devils dropped out of the top 25 after suffering a 5-0 loss to then-No. 5 Louisville last Saturday, while the Tar Heels are enjoying their first week atop the rankings thanks to their current four-game winning streak.
For many key Duke players, this is the first chance they have to experience the Tobacco Road Rivalry. The Blue Devils feature true freshman Joe Ohaus in goal, and have two rookie forwards—Cameron Moseley and Jeremy Ebobisse—as their top points leaders. Just six games into their collegiate careers, these players will have a chance to compete in one of the nation’s premier rivalries.
“The UNC game, it doesn’t matter what the records are between the two schools—it’s always a game that anybody can win,” head coach John Kerr said. “It’s going to be exciting for these guys, their first taste of the Duke-UNC rivalry. It’s a fun event, and this is why you come to Duke—to play in these games against UNC. I know they’re all excited about the opportunity and they’re No. 1 in the country, so what an opportunity for us.”
Duke (2-2-1) will need to get off to a quick start if it hopes to topple the nation’s top team and capture its first conference victory of the year. The Blue Devils have been outscored in the first half by their opponents 9-3 during their first five games, a trend they must reverse in order to establish consistent success against the quality teams in the ACC. Against the Cardinals, the Blue Devils dug themselves into a 2-0 hole less than five minutes into the match, and were unable to recover from there.
“That’s critical that we get off to a good start,” Kerr said. “We want to be ready for the game. We weren’t ready at the start of both the SMU game and the Louisville game, so that’s a critical point of issue that we’ve been discussing and preparing for Friday night. It’s absolutely essential that we get off to a good start.”
Avoiding playing from behind will be especially critical against North Carolina (5-1-0), which has posted four consecutive shutouts and boasts second team All-ACC senior Brendan Moore in goal. The 6-foot-2 Moore put together an impressive season last year—ranking eighth in the nation with a 0.61 goals against average and leading the conference with 10 shutouts—and has been even more dominant this year, allowing just two goals in six games thus far.
Kerr is well aware of the Tar Heels’ defensive prowess, and knows his team will have to make the most of its scoring opportunities when they arise.
“The transition into attack is crucial, and we did a poor job in that category against Louisville,” Kerr said. “One thing is to win the ball defensively, but then can you take advantage of that win in transition? That’s a big point of emphasis that we’re working on this week.”
On the defensive side of the ball, Duke will have to pay special attention to two Tar Heels that missed last year’s 0-0 tie—forwards Andy Craven and Rob Lovejoy. Both fifth-year seniors missed all of last season due to injuries, but the pair hasn’t missed a beat in its return to the lineup this year.
Craven racked up six goals and five assists during the 2012 season and has already put three in the back of the net this year, and Lovejoy has followed up his five-goal performance in 2012 with a goal and three assists to date. The dynamic duo serves as the focal point of North Carolina’s attack, and the Blue Devils will surely have to account for their talented yet different skill sets.
“Both of them are very good players, good at scoring goals,” Kerr said. “Craven, in particular, is a dangerous man at central forward. Lovejoy likes to get down on the wings and cross the ball and arrive at the far post for the opposite wings crosses. So they’re both very dangerous and active and aggressive, and we have to be ready for them.”
Duke is happy to host this crucial game at its home stadium, where it is unbeaten in three games this season. Kerr is hoping that the excitement of playing in front of the home crowd and the energy of the fans can carry the Blue Devils to an upset.
“We’re counting on a big crowd, and we’re counting on their energy,” Kerr said. “We’ll feed off each other. Hopefully they’ll see a team that’s motivated, intense, and ready for this awesome game on Friday night.”
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