No. 5 Blue Devils face utmost challenge in UVa

No. 5 Duke has passed its recent tests—entering this weekend, the Blue Devils have won eight straight—but it faces something of a final exam against No. 1 Virginia Saturday at 8:30 p.m. Duke (10-3, 0-2 ACC) has beaten four ranked opponents over its last eight games and five over the course of the season, but has gone only 2-3 against top-10 teams. Virginia (11-0, 2-0) has beaten three top-5 opponents this season, including then-No. 1 Syracuse.

While the Blue Devils are trying to treat the Cavaliers like any other opponent, the team is well aware of the fact that this is a game of a different magnitude.

“We coach everybody the same way, [and] we look a lot at what we do—what are we doing well and what are we struggling with—it’s the next game and the next set of preparation,” head coach John Danowski said. “[But] when you’re playing in front of 8,000 people and on ESPNU, you have no trouble motivating guys, and the guys are gonna be anxious and ready to play.”

“We’ve always kind of matched up well against them even though we play kind of similar styles,” senior captain Ned Crotty said. “They’ve been better at our style than we have this year... but we’re still playing our own game and we’re just focusing on execution.”

Crotty and Duke’s other seniors have been executing well this season—recently, Crotty and fellow captains Max Quinzani and Parker McKee were named as finalists for the Tewaaraton Trophy, awarded to the nation’s top player. But this week’s practices have allowed Duke to return the focus to preparing itself to be the best it can be, and the training was particularly valuable since the Blue Devils had not had a full week to prepare for a game since the March 20 game against Penn State.

In fact, the eight days between this match and Duke’s last game—a 19-8 blowout of Presbyterian—represent the longest stretch between games Duke has had the entire season.

The timing couldn’t be better for the Blue Devils, who sat out several starters as a precaution against the overmatched Blue Hose. This week has given those injured players a chance to rest while giving the squad as a whole a unique opportunity to get into a rhythm.  

This game is the Blue Devils’ last before the ACC tournament, and despite their impressive season, they still feel like they have something to prove as they look towards postseason play.

“Any athlete wants to measure themselves against the best—Virginia consistently has been one of the best programs in college lacrosse,” Danowski said. “The guys love the challenge of playing teams and being the underdog and trying to prove to the world that they’re capable, that they can compete with the best.”