The ACC regular season title is on the line Saturday.
No. 19 Duke (13-2, 4-2 in the ACC) will play No. 3 Virginia (12-0, 3-1) at 7 p.m. in Charlottesville, Va., in one of the most highly anticipated matchups of the season.
“It’s going to be a difficult, difficult, difficult, difficult, difficult game,” senior Nigi Odogwa said. “They play like a battle, like a war.”
Although the Blue Devils won last season’s contest against Virginia 3-1, Duke head coach John Rennie admits the Cavaliers have an edge this year. Virginia returns 11 starters from last year’s ACC championship squad.
“Their big advantage is that they have experience,” said Rennie, who picked Virginia to win the ACC this year in the preseason coaches poll.
Although Rennie admits that Virginia holds the edge in Charlottesville, he hopes his young team will come out on top.
“[This game] is a way to get a lot of experience into a young team.” Rennie said. “If you are a big time player, you want to play in this game.... We’ll get to sit and watch and see who can really handle the pressure.”
Virginia is riding a six-game winning streak and has not lost since its 2-1 defeat at the hands of North Carolina in late September.
In order for Duke to win, focus and mental toughness will be the key, Odogwa said. Duke has lost two consecutive ACC games to Virginia Tech and N.C. State, and both were close contests. To get back on track, the Blue Devils will have to convert their scoring opportunities, something they failed to do against the Wolfpack and Hokies.
“We haven’t been getting into rhythm lately,” Odogwa said. “We haven’t been clicking on offense.”
The Cavaliers’ battle-tested roster also boasts forward Nico Colaluca, who was the Adidas High School Player of the Year in 2004. Colaluca has been playing soccer at the national level since age nine, when he was included on the U.S. under-12 national team.
“He’s as good a freshman as there is in this league,” Rennie said.
Colaluca joins five sophomores who were the catalysts for last year’s championship run. This year, in a battle between Duke’s youth and Virginia’s experience, the Blue Devil freshmen hope to carry their team to the ACC Championship like last year’s Cavaliers.
Saturday, Duke will be playing against both former teammates and familiar opponents. Freshman striker Spencer Wadsworth will match up against former national squad teammate Hunter Freeman, who is currently leading the ACC with 14 assists. Odogwa and the forwards will have to contend with senior Matt Oliver, an experienced, physically imposing defender.
Nonetheless, Duke, which has not won the ACC regular season title since 1999, can win the crown and enter the tournament as the No. 1 seed if it wins the pivotal ACC games. If the Blue Devils win Saturday, they will play for the championship in two weeks against Wake Forest.
“It’s do or die,” Wadsworth said.
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