Durham, NC (U-WIRE) -- On the heels of last year's ACC and national title game losses, winning a championship was the field hockey team's clear objective. But after their failures in the conference tournament, the Blue Devils have just one more chance.

The NCAA tournament committee, however, did not do the field hockey team any favors.

The Blue Devils will likely have to beat No. 1 North Carolina (20-1) in order to return to the Final Four, instead of hosting first and second round games or having to play in a different regional.

Duke travels to Chapel Hill Saturday at 2 p.m. to face No. 12 Old Dominion in the first round of NCAA tournament. The Blue Devils (15-4) have defeated the Monarchs (13-7) twice this season by scores of 4-2 and 3-0. Richmond and UNC will play in the other regional semifinal, and the winners will meet Sunday for a spot in the Final Four.

Despite its difficult draw, the Blue Devils are looking at the bright side.

"I think we were a little shocked at the seed," senior Johanna Bischof said. "I think we were really hoping to be the No. 4 seed, but it could work out really well. If we beat UNC we'll be in a great position for the Final Four. And it gives us good competition going in there, so we don't get shocked when we get to the Final Four."

The Blue Devils put themselves in this difficult situation by losing to Maryland in the semifinals of the ACC tournament. Duke fell to 1-3 on the year against the nation's top three teams-UNC, Wake Forest and Maryland-which hurt its case to be seeded in the NCAA tournament. If the Blue Devils had beaten the Terrapins, there is little doubt that they would have avoided North Carolina's regional.

Several costly defensive errors hampered Duke last weekend, and in practice this week head coach Beth Bozman tried to ameliorate the problem.

"We switched our defense up a little bit," Bozman said. "We made a lot of mistakes in that game, and I think that we really focused hard on fixing those things and fixing our defensive corners."

Bischof hopes that her team has a better attitude than it did in the conference tournament, and Duke knows its next loss will be its last.

"I think it was a lack of preparation on our part," the senior midfielder said. "We weren't really fired up for the game. We did make a lot of mistakes, we did do a lot of good things too, but I think all in all, we didn't make up for each other's mistakes. It wasn't the mistakes that cost us the game, it was the fact that we weren't there to cover each other's back."

Even though a North Carolina-Duke matchup appears likely on paper, the Blue Devils are not taking the Monarchs for granted. The scores in both games against Old Dominion did not reflect the play, Bischof said. The Monarchs have also defeated the Terrapins, 2-1, Oct. 15.

Old Dominion is also guided by Beth Anderson, considered to be one of the top coaches in the country. The 24-year veteran has made a trip to every single NCAA tournament. Deleware, however, upset the Monarchs in the Colonial Athletic Association conference tournament semifinals.

"They are a dangerous team," Bozman said. "When you get into the tournament your record is 0-0. I think that is why there are so many upsets in the tournament."

Last year, the Blue Devils plowed through their regional on the way to the Final Four. Duke beat American and Old Dominion, 3-1 and 8-2, respectively.

"We try really hard not to talk about what we did last year," Bozman said. "When you dwell on what you did, you are not going to do it again. That's a big reason why teams don't go to the final four two years in a row."

Heading into the ACC tournament, Bozman said that there was no clear favorite. Things have changed, though, and North Carolina is still perfect against ACC competition and has established itself as the favorite to win a national title.

"The difference between UNC and the other teams in the ACC is that they play hard for 70 minutes," Bozman said. "They never, ever let up. They are an incredibly passionate team and they just go after you for 70 minutes."

If the Blue Devils can make the Final Four, they will face the winner of the Michigan regional. That opponent, on paper, will likely be less challenging of a task for Duke than North Carolina.

(C) 2004 The Chronicle via U-WIRE