In the 11-year history of the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships, the men's soccer team has yet to walk away with the title. As the No. 1 seed in this year's tournament, there is no time like the present for the Blue Devils to start a new trend and go all the way. However, before Duke can convert its top seed into a championship title, it must go up against some of the country's best teams.
This year's tournament will play out at the Disney Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla. The quest for the championship will take place over four days with Saturday as an off day before Sunday's final.
Although the Blue Devils will start this year's tournament where they ended things last year in the semi-final round, the team is not going to spend this afternoon enjoying Disney World's numerous attractions. Instead, they will practice this afternoon before catching the first round action from the comfort of the stands.
"We'll practice at 11 or 12 o'clock and then go watch everyone else battle things out," Duke coach John Rennie said. "The teams are so different from what they were like earlier on in the season. [Today's] games will be more of an indication of what everyone will play like during the tournament then their regular season games were."
No. 2 Virginia and No. 7 North Carolina will get things started in this afternoon's first round game. Things will not slow down until the winners of Friday's semi-final games battle things out in Sunday's 3 p.m. championship match.
While No. 3 North Carolina State and No. 6 Wake Forest go at it after the Virginia-Carolina game, and No. 4 Maryland and No. 5 Clemson finally take the field at 8 pm in the last match of today's quarter-final games, the Blue Devils will enjoy the first round bye that comes with their No. 1 seed.
Of particular interest to the Blue Devils is this evening's Maryland versus Clemson game. Duke will play the winner of this match in tomorrow's 8 p.m. semifinal round.
Going into this tournament, the Blue Devils are ranked sixth in the country and have a 4-2 record in the ACC. Duke suffered the first of its two ACC losses in a 2-1 overtime decision to Maryland, the defending ACC champions. However, that was back on Sept. 28 and less then one month into the season. Since then, Duke has had time to improve its skills
"When we played Maryland the first time they barely beat us," sophomore forward Troy Garner said. "We didn't finish our chances, but that was a long time ago. Since then we've had a lot of practice."
There is also the strong possibility that the Blue Devils will face Clemson, a team they beat 5-1 on Sept. 21. However, just like the Blue Devils, the Tigers have had plenty of time to improve their game.
"Basically, Clemson is a good team," freshman forward Robert Russell said. "The score wasn't really indicative of how good they were or how much better they have become, but I still think that we are the better team."
While winning the ACC Tournament is this weekend's number one priority, the NCAA Tournament is also on the team's mind. With a good showing this weekend, the Blue Devils are more likely to have the home field advantage in a few of their NCAA Tournament games.
"We're playing to win the ACC Tournament this weekend," Garner said. "But we also need to think of the NCAA Tournament. How we play this weekend will determine if we'll play our [NCAA] games on the road or if we'll get to play some at home."
If the way in which the teams are seeded is any true indication of the way things will play out, it should be Duke and Virginia, the only other ACC team besides Maryland to defeat the Blue Devils, in Sunday's final. The Cavaliers pulled off a 2-0 victory to upset Duke on Parents' Weekend and knocked Duke out of last years tournament in a 3-2 overtime semi-final game.
Their strong performance during the regular season has earned the Blue Devils the No. 1 seed. Duke is the first, however, to admit that past performance is not necessarily a strong indication of things to come. The Blue Devils are well aware that they must be physically and mentally prepared for any challenges that await them in Florida.
"Coach [Rennie] hasn't had to say much to get us mentally prepared," Russell said. "He might give us a pre-game talk, but we already know what's expected of us without it being said and we're ready to do it."
Note: Duke's regular season accomplishments were officially recognized Wednesday with the announcement of the All-ACC men's soccer team. Forward Ali Curtis and midfielder Jay Heaps were named to the first team, while forward Troy Garner, midfielders Josh Henderson and Evan Whitfield and defender Robert Russell were awarded second team honors. In addition, coach John Rennie was named ACC Coach of the Year.
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