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3-D Vision
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Missed the soccer bandwagon? Check out the ACC**
When the World Cup came to the United States last summer, a tremendous wave of soccer enthusiasm rushed over the entire country, as the American team miraculously advanced to the quarterfinal round.
FIFA, soccer's international governing body, had allowed the U.S. to host the World Cup only on the condition that a professional soccer league, with top-quality talent, be created in the country within the year. With the huge financial success brought about by the tournament, its promoters proclaimed that a new era in soccer had been born. The U.S. was finally catching up to the rest of the world, they said.
But that wave crashed as quickly as it had crested. The erstwhile professional league, Major League Soccer, ran into financial difficulties, and the starting date for MLS was pushed back a full year. And as a thrilling World Cup final was overshadowed in the headlines by the labor strike in pro baseball, America failed to capitalize on its chance to produce a nationwide soccer rage.
This year, the experts are again saying that now is the time for soccer in America.
And this time they're right.
Duke backers ought to have a keen interest in the progress.
First of all, American soccer is at its highest quality in its history. With numerous members of the men's national team playing in premier-division leagues overseas, and the team's victory in U.S. Cup '95 and subsequent appearance in the semifinals of the Copa America this month, the U.S. is indeed finally within shouting distance of the international soccer powers. Also, the women's team--led by media darling Mia Hamm--reached the semifinals of the women's World Cup this summer after winning the whole enchilada two years ago.
Second, MLS has received the go-ahead from the U.S. Soccer Federation to begin play in 1996, and it will open with 10 franchises. The league has already inked a number of world stars such as Alexi Lalas and the flamboyant Jorge Campos.
Where do the Duke fans fit into this equation? They have a prime seat for watching the nation's best talent that will be contributing to the impending soccer boom. For both the men and women, the Atlantic Coast Conference is the ultimate college soccer league in the nation, and both Blue Devil teams are perennially at the top of the standings.
In the last 11 years, ACC men's teams have won eight national titles, with Virginia sweeping the last four and Duke capturing the crown in 1986--the school's only non-basketball national championship. Eight miles down the road, Anson Dorrance's North Carolina women have taken the last nine national titles, and Duke is the only team ever to beat the Tar Heels on their home field, having done so in a 3-2 thriller last year.
And this year promises to be one of the most intriguing ACC campaigns in recent memory. In consecutive seasons, the Virginia men have lost their best-ever player, Claudio Reyna, to early departure for the national team, and their most successful class ever to graduation. The Cavaliers are at their lowest talent level in years, yet they still have on their roster the three most recent high school Players of the Year in Mike Fisher, Andriy Shapowal and Ben Olson.
UNC is probably the odds-on favorite to win the league title, as it returns most of its starters and the ACC Rookie of the Year in Carey Talley. The Tar Heels play an exciting brand of up-tempo soccer, led by the brash, high-scoring Temoc Suarez.
And Duke, having ended last season ranked sixth nationally, should be a prime contender as well. Despite losing the league's best goalkeeper in goals-against average, Garth Lagerwey, and the school's best midfielder ever in Jason Kreis to graduation, the Blue Devils are loaded with speed at all positions. Duke suffered through its most injury-riddled season in head coach John Rennie's 17-year tenure, which provided valuable game experience for bench players who otherwise wouldn't have seen many minutes at all.
On the women's side, UNC is also at its weakest, talent-wise, in quite some time. Of course, this doesn't mean much, since the Tar Heels still boast three national team members, including incoming freshman phenom Tiffany Roberts. But now that the fantastic trio of Hamm, Kristine Lilly and Tisha Venturini have graduated (and, naturally, are all playing for the national team), the ACC women's league has a great opportunity to become something other than Carolina and the Six Dwarves.
With the departure of Venturini, North Carolina will be without a proven senior leader for the first time in a while. Clemson surprised everyone last year by reaching the NCAA tournament in the squad's first year at the varsity level. And Virginia--under the tutelage of head coach and ex-Tar Heel Lauren Gregg--was practically unbeatable at home, and that should remain the case this year.
But the one team that is most likely to knock UNC from its lofty perch is--you guessed it--Duke. In contrast to North Carolina, the Blue Devils have senior leadership all over the field. On the front line, speedy Katherine Remy will give defenders fits on the wing. At halfback, Kelly Walbert is the favorite for Player of the Year honors and is an excellent distributor and scorer. In the goal is three-year starter Melissa Carr, the defensive heroine of last season's miraculous win over UNC.
For Duke soccer players, now really is the time to break the strongholds of the reigning league champions. For Duke fans, if you need something to tide you over until basketball season, try walking a couple hundred yards past Cameron Indoor Stadium--to the Duke Soccer Stadium.
Jason Helbraun is a Trinity junior and assistant sports editor of The Chronicle.
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