Even if Duke has taken its season one game at a time, it has never taken its sights off the ACC tournament.
Each loss was an opportunity to learn and improve, and every victory was just a small step in the right direction.
Now, the regular season is over and tournament play begins. The No. 5 Blue Devils start the postseason Wednesday at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary at 8 p.m. against a familiar opponent, fourth-seeded Virginia.
And Duke has an advantage even before the contest kicks off: The Blue Devils (10-6-2) have already beaten the Cavaliers (9-7-1) this season. The venue may be different, but the Blue Devils haven't forgotten their 1-0 overtime victory Oct. 25. Playing a man down with 34:54 left, the Blue Devils kept the game scoreless in regulation.
In a hard-fought overtime, senior forward Mike Grella, who was named ACC Player of the Year Tuesday, flipped the ball over his head and quickly turned, looking to make a play in the box. Grella was fouled by a Virginia defender and awarded a penalty kick, sealing the victory when he placed the ball in the back of the net.
"We created something from nothing," head coach John Kerr said. "He conjured up a play and scored that wonderful penalty kick to win the game for us."
Duke doesn't enter tonight's match without detractors and doubters. The Blue Devils appeared injured and sick Friday in their 2-1 loss to N.C. State. Freshman forward Temi Molinar was out with pneumonia, and freshman defender Ian Kalis remains sidelined with a pelvic injury, not to mention the injuries to freshman forward Kyle Bethel and senior defender Graham Dugoni that have knocked them out for the season.
Still, Duke hopes the loss against N.C. State was nothing more than a temporary setback.
"We're trying to move past it quickly, but it's not like we overlooked them," Kerr said. "They were very good that night, and we weren't as good as we had been the last five or six games.... They have some guile and some savvy, and we paid the price for making a couple mistakes."
Rather than dwell on the loss, though, the Blue Devils look forward to a change in format-and that's exactly what the ACC tournament provides. Increased nerves, physical play and intensity are the natural consequences of a single-elimination set-up.
"The stakes are high.... [The Cavaliers] are so athletic, so we have to make sure we're up for it physically," he said. "We have our work cut out for us, but we have some very good players, as well. We are rested up and ready to go."
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