The Blue Devils' season has been characterized by its ups and downs.
After opening with two tough losses against elite competition, the team bounced back with a pair of victories to win the Duke Classic this past weekend.
So as Duke rolls into Virginia Tech Soccer Stadium in Blacksburg, Va., at 7:30 p.m. Friday, it not only hopes to continue building on its recent momentum, but also looks to kick off its ACC season on the right foot. The Blue Devils (2-2) expect a stiff test from the No. 22 Hokies (2-1-1), a squad that reached the final four last year.
Besides hoping to send a message to the rest of the ACC, which boasts five top-25 teams including No. 1 Wake Forest, new Duke head coach John Kerr is excited to finally get a better indication of where his team stacks up within the conference.
"We played four really good games up to this point to try and prepare for these ACC league encounters," Kerr said. "We're excited about the opportunity to head over to their place and have a crack at them."
The Blue Devils, however, enter tonight's matchup having been exposed to quality opponents. Duke battled top-10 teams at the Indiana Classic, falling 2-1 to then-No. 7 Indiana and 4-1 to No. 3 Notre Dame.
"It was important to play good teams early on," senior captain Graham Dugoni said. "We're not going to be surprised by anything we see. We feel like we've played some of the better teams in the country, and we can compete with anybody."
At the Indiana tournament starting Aug. 29, the team struggled to get consistent play from the offensive end of the field. Yet with a return home to Koskinen Stadium last weekend, the Blue Devils seemed to hit their stride, scoring six times in two games.
Dugoni feels like such an outburst is a sign of the team uniting around Kerr's offensive-minded coaching style.
"It takes a little bit of time to adapt a new philosophy," Dugoni said. "[Kerr] encouraged us to really take chances and get forward. This past weekend was a good example of that all coming together in the form of goal production."
To this point in the year, Duke fans are growing accustomed to watching freshmen receive significant minutes in the lineup, a result of losing 13 seniors to graduation. So far, defenseman Ian Kalis, midfielders Kwasi Ayisi and Joseph Pak and forwards Temi Molinar and Kyle Bethel have all drawn Kerr's praise for their first-year play.
"It's exciting. At one point against American, we had five freshmen on the field," Kerr said. "That's a good sign for the future, but also a good sign for now."
And if the freshmen can help Duke leave Blacksburg on an up note, the Blue Devils might be on their way to establishing themselves at the top of this season's ACC hierarchy.
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