In the midst of a critical stretch of their season, the Blue Devils will hope the comforts of home can spur them to victory.
Duke takes on Davidson Tuesday night at 7 p.m. at Koskinen Stadium, its second contest of a three-games-in-six-days gauntlet. The Blue Devils come into the game on a two-game skid, but have fared much better at home this season, where they boast an undefeated 5-0-1 record.
"It's a big game for us, no question about it," head coach John Kerr said. "The momentum, to bounce back from a tough loss, is going to be huge if we can get the victory."
The Wildcats (5-1-3) have plenty of road experience and will certainly not be a pushover for Duke (5-5-1). Davidson has posted an impressive 3-1-0 mark away from home this season, including a marquee 2-1 victory at then-No. 2 Virginia—the same Virginia squad that is now ranked No. 14 and just knocked off the Blue Devils 1-0 Saturday.
"I watched that game already," Kerr said. "We're very aware of their strengths. They're a very committed team. They're very committed to working hard for each other and they're also committed to going forward, which was apparent against UVA. They weren't afraid, they weren't timid. They were willing to put the numbers in Virginia's box."
Tuesday’s game will feature two teams with different strengths—the Blue Devils with their offense that ranks third in the ACC in scoring and has racked up 20 goals this season, and the Wildcats and their stingy defense that has allowed just nine goals on the year.
One of these strengths will prevail over the other, but Duke will have its offensive catalyst back in the lineup to bolster its scoring attack. Senior captain Sean Davis returned to the lineup Saturday against Virginia, playing the full 90 minutes after missing most of three games due to a leg injury. Despite his time on the sidelines, Davis still leads the team with five assists and is critical for any sustained offensive success the Blue Devils hope to maintain.
"Sean's our captain, our go-to guy," Kerr said. "He brings such a big presence for us in midfield and he's basically our quarterback. He wasn't 100 percent [against Virginia] but he was pretty much good to go. He worked through the game very, very hard and made some big plays for us. We're glad to have him back."
Defensively, Duke will need to reverse its season-long trend of falling behind early as it moves into the final portion of the schedule. The Blue Devils have yielded 13 goals in the first half this season—scoring only four themselves—and it cost them yet again against Virginia, as a 13th-minute goal gave the Cavaliers an early lead that they would preserve for the rest of the match.
Luckily for Duke, Davidson has tallied only two first-half goals this year. The trio of midfielder Alan Reiter, forward Valeriy Sviderskiy, and forward Maxi Pragnell have provided most of the offense for the Wildcats, accounting for eight of the team’s 14 total goals. Each member of the trio is an established offensive threat—the youngest member, Pragnell, led the team in assists and ranked second in total points as a freshman last season, while Reiter and Sviderskiy are in their third year as major contributors to the squad.
"The parity amongst Division I teams is pretty apparent," Kerr said. "We just had a hard time and unfortunate result against Virginia, but Davidson went there two weeks ago and beat them. So you can take nothing for granted."
With the season past the halfway mark, the Blue Devils know each game becomes more and more critical. Although Tuesday’s game will not count towards the ACC standings, Duke will it need to break its current slide and start building momentum for the conference foes it will face in the final five games of the season, beginning with No. 6 Notre Dame Friday.
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