With postseason seeding implications on the line, the No. 11 Blue Devils (12-4-0, 4-3-0 in the ACC) wrap up the regular season with a showdown at No. 4 Wake Forest (12-3-2, 4-2-1) tonight at 7 p.m..
Duke, currently with 12 points in the ACC, could top the standings and win the conference title with a victory Friday and a loss or tie by North Carolina. The Tar Heels, on 13 points, play Clemson, the ACC’s worst team with only six points.
The Demon Deacons welcome a Duke squad playing as well as it has all season after five consecutive victories at Koskinen Stadium. The Blue Devils have outscored their opponents 18-2 during that stretch.
Those opponents have included mostly unranked nonconference teams, like Presbyterian and Navy, but also two ACC rivals that Duke was able to sweep aside.
“Our record is a great indication of how we’re playing right now as a team, and we’re very confident headed into Friday’s game,” head coach John Kerr said.
The surging Blue Devils will need to focus on slowing a high-scoring Wake Forest offense. The Demon Deacons are led by senior striker Zack Schilawski, who leads the conference with 10 goals.
Schilawski is surrounded by talent up front, with midfielder Austin da Luz leading the ACC in assists and standout freshman Andy Lubahn providing another dangerous scoring option for the Demon Deacons.
“We’re going to try and draw our defensive line a little deeper and try to prevent them from getting into our defensive third,” senior defender Matthew Thomas said.
Although it is necessary for Duke to stifle the Wake Forest attack, Kerr knows the Blue Devils cannot simply place 11 men behind the ball and defend for a draw. Eventually, Duke has to open up the game by putting pressure on Wake Forest.
“We’re going to try and take away their strengths, and then get into the game offensively ourselves and execute,” Kerr said.
Duke will look to its own high-scoring duo, freshman striker Ryan Finley and junior midfielder Cole Grossman, in Winston-Salem. Grossman and Finley both place in the top five in total conference points with 24 and 22, respectively.
Both Grossman and Finley were integral to Duke’s upset over then-No. 2 Maryland earlier in the season, and it will take another Herculean effort to knock off Wake Forest on the road. The Demon Deacons had gone undefeated in 35 straight contests at home until Virginia snapped the streak in September. Still, the Blue Devils know it’s going to be an uphill battle in Winston-Salem.
“Our seniors started our ACC careers at Wake Forest,” Thomas said. “We know its going to be tough, but we’re excited.”