For the Blue Devils, this may be the most important game of the season.
Coming off two losses against the last two ranked opponents it has faced, No. 9 Duke is looking for some much needed confidence against the streaking Cavaliers. While the Blue Devils (9-4, 2-0 in the ACC) have lost to No. 1 Syracuse and No. 7 Denver on consecutive weekends, No. 6 Virginia (8-3, 1-1) beat No. 10 North Carolina 11-10 in overtime last weekend.
The match also happens to be the final conference game of the season for both teams and will be the deciding factor for each team’s seeding in the ACC Tournament. With so much on the line, both Virginia and Duke need this victory.
“We respect their program so much. We respect their coaching staff and their players,” head coach John Danowski said. “For us, we want to measure ourselves against the best.... It’s really easy for us to get our guys to be focused for [this] game.”
Both squads are powerful offensively, with Duke’s scoring offense ranking fourth in the country—three spots behind the Cavaliers’ NCAA-best 13.18 goals per game. The game will most likely be an offensive duel as both teams will look to score early and often.
“Virginia is an extremely talented team. Every year it seems like they have the best recruiting class in the country,” Danowski said. “We need to compete.”
The Cavaliers boast two consensus preseason first team All-Americans in Shamel Bratton and Steele Stanwick. They return seven starters, and nine of the top ten scorers off their prolific 2010 team. Nevertheless, Virginia lost a few games early in the season and has not fulfilled the media’s lofty expectations.
In contrast, Duke had a relatively inexperienced team this year, with their second and third leading scorers on the team being freshmen. After losing many of the team’s key players from the national championship campaign, Duke began the season ranked No. 5. The loss of such key leadership did lead to an early season swoon, as the team fell all the way to No. 15.
“I think we overachieved. I think we surpassed expectations for a young team when going on that streak,” Danowski said. “We’re playing so many young people. This may be the part of the season they get tired.... We’re playing seven freshmen and eight sophomores and this is just a pace they’re not used to.”
For the seniors on the Virginia squad, victory has been the only thing they’ve been used to, except against Duke. Boasting a 53-12 overall record, half of their losses have come against the Blue Devils. Last year, as the number one overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, the Cavaliers were defeated by the Duke in the national semifinals. Incidently, prior to that match, the only loss Virginia suffered in 2010 had also been to Duke.
Playing at home, Duke should come into the game with an advantage, as it tries to secure the number one seed in the ACC Tournament, which will also be held at Koskinen Stadium next week. With two teams so closely familiar with one another, the game promises to be one full of emotion and passion, but according to Danowski, his team is simply preparing to make another postseason run.
“It’s like the basketball season,” Danowski said. “You can lose some games at some point. As long as you learn from those losses, you’re going to be a better team at the end. That’s the hope.”
With both teams again at the crossroads, each squad will look to finish the ACC season strong.
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