The explosive youth of Duke and the experience of Clemson will meet Saturday.
When the teams square off at 7 p.m. under the lights of Koskinen Stadium, conference play will finally begin. After cruising to a perfect 6-0 record, the Blue Devils have their sights set on the Tigers. Duke is looking to avenge last year’s close 2-1 loss to Clemson and its less than stellar 2-4 conference record in 2003.
“Clemson is probably thinking we’re inexperienced since we start a lot of freshmen, but the team as a whole will come together,” co-captain Matt White said.
This Duke team is much different than last year’s squad. With a stingy defensive unit that has not allowed a goal all season and a much quicker and more dangerous offense, the 2004 Blue Devils have plenty of skill to hang with any ACC team.
The one disadvantage Duke has is its inexperience. Senior co-captain Joe Kelly is optimistic about Saturday’s game, but he is also aware that a game of this magnitude can be a tough task, especially for such a young team.
“There will be a lot of nerves coming into a game of this importance, but we are looking to start the ACC with a bang this year,” Kelly said. “The team will go into tomorrow’s game with a lot of positive energy.”
Clemson comes into Saturday’s game with a solid 3-1 record, including a pair of wins in the adidas/Brown Classic. The Tigers’ Steven Rhyne, who was named Offensive MVP of the tournament, poses the biggest threat to Duke’s shutout streak. In order to contain the powerful Clemson offense, the Blue Devils will have to continue to step up. The Tigers, like Duke, struggled in the ACC last year with a 2-4 record. Both teams will be anxious to forget about 2003 by notching an early conference victory.
Clemson suffered its only loss this to No. 3 UNC-Greensboro, 2-0. The Spartans took advantage of defensive mistakes made by the Tigers, and Duke will look to do the same this weekend.
Although the Blue Devils have had very impressive numbers thus far this season, they have not had faced an opponent like Clemson. Playing and beating inferior teams like Emory & Henry and St. Francis will not make this year successful for Duke. Last year the Blue Devils failed to pull through in big games; the team often lost close contests against top teams.
The fresh faces on the team this year may be what Duke needs to once again become a top ACC program. Five freshmen see significant playing time, including Paul Dudley and Michael Videira, who are among the team’s top offensive producers. Freshmen Spencer Wadsworth, Tomek Charowski and Zachary Pope have also proven to be key contributors to Duke’s strong start.
Along with the new blood on the team, sophomores Josh Swank and Chris Loftus and junior Blake Camp, who was the Duke/adidas Classic MVP, form a much stronger core than Duke had last season. This year, if Clemson hopes to repeat 2003’s victory, it will have to do it against a retooled Blue Devil team.
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