For three consecutive years under head coach Beth Bozman, the Blue Devils have fallen just short of college field hockey's ultimate prize, finishing as runners-up at the NCAA championship.
For No. 4 Duke (14-5), this year's run at winning the NCAA tournament starts Saturday at Williams Field at 11 a.m. vs No.13 James Madison (15-7).
The Dukes of James Madison have a lot of momentum entering the tournament, coming off a 1-0 win over No. 3 Old Dominion-a team which twice beat the Blue Devils during the regular season-for their conference championship.
Duke, on the other hand, has been challenged recently on and off the field. Last week, the Blue Devils lost assistant coach Maria Whitehead to cancer and had their hopes of an ACC Championship dashed with a 2-0 loss to No. 8 North Carolina.
Now the team, with a new outlook on life and on the game, hopes it can bring it all together to win the NCAA tournament.
"It's been a really emotional season, and there's been a lot of ups and downs," senior captain Hilary Linton said. "The team has been through so much together that we can really take anything."
Nevertheless, Duke is adamant that its first and only priority is taking down JMU.
"This year there's just so much parity in the tournament," Bozman said. "If anybody overlooks any team, they're going to be eliminated, and we know that."
Statistically, Duke is better than its opponent in every ranked category, including scoring margin, goals per game, points and scoring average. Still, the Blue Devils can't afford to look past the Dukes, who aren't strangers to being statistically overmatched. In their last game versus Old Dominion, James Madison was outshot 23-1 and still came away with a victory.
Duke is looking to demonstrate that same perseverance and, with home field advantage through the opening rounds and seniors who have experienced the championship game three straight seasons, the team feels that this year is its best chance ever.
"Last year I know how badly all the seniors wanted it, and [the loss] was so heartbreaking," sophomore midfielder Marian Dickinson said. "This year it means that much to everybody else. We feel like we can do it, and we want to."
To be champions, Duke will have to play against much of the same competition it has faced all year. The ACC dominates this year's tournament with five of the six conference teams represented in the 16-team tournament.
The Blue Devils are confident in their chances, relying on the unity and sense of urgency they've developed throughout the season-especially in the last few weeks.
"It's serving us in a really good way," Bozman said of the adversity the team has faced. "Hilary [Linton] summed it up really well when she said that she's going to do everything she can, because she can. That's the attitude we've all taken."
With that go-for-broke mindset, the Blue Devils are entering the tournament with excitement and without any emotional burden.
"We're looking forward to this weekend," Bozman said.
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