When 14th-ranked Duke meets third-ranked Maryland 8 p.m. Friday in College Park, Md., one team will get revenge.
The Blue Devils (7-1-1, 2-0-1 in the ACC) are looking to avenge last year's 3-1 home loss to Maryland (9-1-0, 2-1).
The Terrapins-who won the national championship last year-are looking to get even after last year's 4-2 loss to Duke in the ACC tournament-a defeat that snapped Maryland's 11-game winning streak.
Along with the history between the two squads, Friday's game will be even more important for both as it is a conference matchup between two top-15 teams.
"We obviously want to win all of our ACC games," junior midfielder Mike Videira said. "We've been working extremely hard this week preparing for Maryland."
One of the recent concerns for Duke has been putting the ball in the back of the net-the Blue Devils have scored just three goals over their last four games. While Duke has been creating plenty of scoring chances, the team has been unable to capitalize on those opportunities since it exploded for three goals in the second half in a 4-3 win over Wake Forest Sept. 8.
After two weeks of playing games on Tuesday as well as the weekend, Duke has enjoyed a full week of rest heading into Friday's key matchup.
"I think we just needed a week without a midweek game," head coach John Rennie said, "We needed to get our sharpness and execution back."
If the Blue Devils are crisp offensively and pull out a win against Maryland, they would not only get revenge but also solidify a top spot in the ACC. With the victory, Duke could beat the defending national champions on the road and remain unbeaten in conference play.
"This would be a very big step for us," Rennie said, "Winning a game on the road in the ACC is very very hard, especially against a highly ranked team like Maryland."
After allowing just two goals over the last four games, Duke will look to continue its strong defensive play to shut down Maryland's offense. The Blue Devils limited Boston College's prolific goal scorer Charlie Davies to just one shot, and junior goalie Justin Papadakis has three shutouts this season.
The defense will be key to continue Duke's modicum of recent success against Maryland. The Blue Devils have won five of their last eight meetings against the Terrapins, and in 2004, Duke knocked off the top-ranked Terrapins, 2-1. Maryland, however, leads the overall series 39-19-3.
Though Duke has enjoyed recent success against Maryland, last year's home loss to the Terrapins has not been forgotten, and Duke will carry that motivation into College Park.
"The game is on TV, it's at night, it's an ACC game, and it's Maryland," sophomore forward Mike Grella said. "It'd be great to beat them on the road."
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