The Blue Devils set their highest goal mark of the season when they squared off against Clemson in September. But, Duke is not kidding itself into thinking it is facing the same Tigers squad it demolished 5-2.
The No. 3-seeded Blue Devils will play host to surging sixth-seeded Clemson in the first round of the ACC tournament tonight at 7 p.m at Koskinen Stadium.
Although Duke (10-6-2) handily defeated the Tigers earlier in the year behind junior forward Andrew Wenger’s hat trick, the team is not even watching film from its earlier matchup because it knows how much Clemson has evolved since that blowout.
“Their intensity and commitment to defense is much different [than it was in September],” junior forward Andrew Wenger said. “In their last couple games they’ve gotten some good results, so we’ve been watching those games.”
The Tigers (8-8-1) began the year slowly, and in the middle of October hit a low point with a 3-7 record in their first 10 matches. That stretch included two three-game losing streaks, and the few wins did not come easily, with two of them requiring double overtime. The second of the two losing streaks, which culminated in the team’s seventh loss, comprised three consecutive shutouts.
In the seven games since then, however, Clemson has experienced a rebirth, with five wins and just one loss in that span. Two of the victories were in the ACC against ranked opponents, against then-No. 14 Boston College and then-No. 1 Maryland.
Most recently, the team is on a three-game winning streak, including two conference victories, that finally leveled the squad at .500.
“You’re going to see a much different Clemson team than we saw earlier in the season,” Wenger said, “but also a much different Duke team.”
The Blue Devils, like the Tigers, have also steadily improved throughout the course of the season with eight wins and only two losses since the teams first faced off.
In many ways, that game has served as a turning point for the Duke offense. The Blue Devils scored only five goals in the five games prior to the Clemson contest and were shutout twice. In the 12 games since then, they have notched 31 goals without being kept scoreless once.
“We’re more polished and battle-hardened,” head coach John Kerr said. “We’ve had some tough games that we’ve been in and learned a lot from it.”
Kerr, who is in his fourth season as the Duke head coach, has yet to win an ACC tournament game in his tenure. His teams have been shutout 1-0 by Boston College in two straight years, and in his first year they fell to Virginia.
“We haven’t won one since we’ve been in charge,” Kerr said. “We’ve got to try and get that elusive win and move onto the semifinals.”
This is the first time, though, that Kerr’s Blue Devils will have the benefit of home-field advantage. With the ACC’s decision to provide free admission to students for Tuesday’s matchup—a change from previous years—the team is hoping for a strong showing in support of the team.
Should the Blue Devils prevail, they will face the winner of No. 2-seeded Maryland and No. 7-seeded Boston College, who also play Tuesday. Furthermore, a victory would have implications for Duke’s seeding in the NCAA tournament, which will be announced next week.
“No question [we are thinking about that],” Kerr said. “Clemson’s RPI has shot up dramatically in the past three weeks, and it’ll be an excellent win if we can pull it off.”
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