Aug. 19, 2004

The Duke University field hockey team begins its 2004 campaign on Saturday, Aug. 21 with an exhibition contest in Winston-Salem, N.C., against Wake Forest. Saturday's game is scheduled to start at 4:00 p.m. at Kentner Stadium. The Blue Devils posted a 20-4 record a year ago, while reaching the ACC Championship and NCAA Championship games. On both occasions, Duke dropped hard fought decisions to the Demon Deacons. The Blue Devils defeated Wake Forest, 1-0, on Oct. 12 to end a 31-game win streak by the Demon Deacons. With 14 players, including eight starters, returning from last year's NCAA Championship runner-up, Duke will be looking to make another run at the ACC and NCAA titles in 2004. Among the Blue Devils returning are the top five scorers from a year ago. The quintet of Johanna Bischof, Nicole Dudek, Katie Grant, Chrissie Murphy and Gracie Sorbello combined for 228 of the team's 299 points last season. Grant and Sorbello paced the team in goals with 23 apiece, while Bischof led the NCAA and set a new Duke single-season record with 30 assists. Bischof also holds the Blue Devil record for career assists with 45. The Duke offense, which set a school record with 106 goals in 2003, could be made even stronger by the addition of Cara-Lynn Lopresti. Lopresti, a transfer from Stanford, collected 26 points while receiving all-conference and Nor Pac Rookie of the Year honors last season. The Blue Devils open the regular season in East Lansing, Mich., at the Spartan Invitational next weekend. Duke begins the tournament on Saturday, Aug. 28 with an 11:30 a.m. contest against Louisville. Host Michigan State faces Delaware with the two winners advancing to play one another on Sunday, Aug. 29. The losing teams in Saturday's contests will play a consolation game on Sunday as well.