For the second half of the season, Duke has been fighting for its postseason life. But as the team rides an eight-game unbeaten streak into Tuesday’s game against Notre Dame, the intensity will only increase.
The seventh-seeded Blue Devils will take on the second-seeded Fighting Irish—ranked the No. 1 team in the nation—in the quarterfinal round of the ACC tournament Tuesday night at 7 p.m. at Alumni Stadium in South Bend, Ind.
“We’re trying to present our case to the NCAA with regards to our appearance in the [NCAA] tournament,” Duke head coach John Kerr said. “If we go in and knock off Notre Dame, we’ll definitely be in the tournament.”
When these two teams previously met Sept. 27, Notre Dame (11-1-5, 7-1-3 in the ACC) emerged unscathed with a 3-1 win. Duke (8-4-6, 3-3-5) was tied deep into the second half behind a Jack Coleman goal, but Notre Dame stormed back with two late second-half goals to emerge victorious in a game where the Fighting Irish outshot Duke 17-6.
“It’s hard to beat a team twice in the same season, so hopefully that maintains itself into the game on Tuesday,” Kerr said. “We played very well at Notre Dame…. We were strong right down to the very end, and then we had a lapse…. We got a lot of confidence from [our performance].”
Things have been looking up for the Blue Devils recently, as they haven’t lost since Oct. 1 to UNC-Wilmington. During the unbeaten streak, the defense has been remarkably stout, allowing only three goals in eight games.
Notre Dame has been even better defensively, allowing only 0.65 goals per game over the season. Senior Patrick Wall has notched eight shutouts for the Irish in goal.
Offensively, Harrison Shipp leads the offensive attack for the Fighting Irish with eight goals and seven assists on the year. Shipp found the back of the net against Duke in the previous matchup. Patrick Hodan also threatens the defense, as he’s tallied four goals and four assists.
“They’re a very good team, and they’ve proven themselves all season long [as to] what a good team they are,” Kerr said. “We have nothing to lose—we’re the underdog, they’re at home, and they’ve earned that right. We’re on a little bit of a run right now, and we have an opportunity to knock off one of the big guns.”
Putting more strain on Duke will be the absence of centerback Zach Mathers. Mathers earned a red card in the season finale against Clemson and will have to sit out this contest per NCAA rules. Kerr will have to shuffle his lineup to adjust for Mathers’ absence.
“We haven’t decided yet totally, but logically we’d probably drop [defensive midfielder Nat] Eggleston there and then reassess the midfield,” Kerr said.
Regardless of Kerr’s strategy, goalkeeper Alex Long will likely be heavily tested Tuesday. Long had to make three saves in the previous matchup against Notre Dame, and he has accumulated eight shutouts this season. The Duke defense has held opponents scoreless in its last 194 minutes of play.
The Blue Devils’ best opportunities to score will likely come off of set pieces, which have generated 52 percent of Duke’s goals on the season. Midfielder and captain Sean Davis has six of those goals—three coming from penalty kicks and three from free kicks.
Despite the tough task ahead of the squad, Duke could feel like it’s playing with house money at the moment, having not been guaranteed of its postseason status before Friday night’s 1-0 victory against Clemson.
Still, it’s safe to say the Blue Devils are far from satisfied.
“No one wants to play a team on a roll,” Kerr said. “We’re on a roll, and we want to continue this as long as we can.”
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