Devils Look for Long Trip in Postseason

By John Roth, Blue Devil Weekly

DURHAM, N.C.-- Christie McDonald's penchant for traveling sent her backpacking across Europe a couple of summers ago, to Italy for a study abroad program last year and it will guide her to South America for a post-graduation trip in 2009.

But the odyssey that is uppermost on her mind this fall is her four-year journey as a Duke student-athlete. As a member of the women's soccer team, her days in a Blue Devil uniform are rapidly dwindling; she and her five fellow seniors lead Duke into the ACC Tournament this week and likely the NCAA Tournament after that ? and then their collegiate playing days are over.

"I'm just going into it knowing it's one of the last times I'm ever going to play, and really looking forward to it," says McDonald. "Tournament time is crazy and you can never predict what is going to happen, but I have a lot of faith in this team and I really think we have a good chance to go far in the tournament."

McDonald and the Blue Devils have been hovering in or around the national Top 10 all season and will enter the ACC tourney in Cary as the No. 5 seed with a 12-4-3 record. After that, it should be on to the NCAAs, where the Devils will try to generate another inspirational run similar to the one that closed their 2008 season.

Duke was clearly on the NCAA bubble last November with an 8-5-6 record and only two wins in the last eight matches leading up to selection day. But the Devils were admitted to the field of 64 and proceeded to advance through the first three rounds before being eliminated in the quarterfinals. All four games were on the road.

One of the goals for this year's team was to make sure there was no doubt about their worthiness for an NCAA bid. As one of the top teams in the nation's best conference, that should be considered a mission accomplished.

"One of our mottos is taking care of business, winning the games we should win, and I think we've done a good job with that this year," McDonald says.

"Last year we knew that if we were given a shot we could do something great and I think we proved that ? but we were lucky to get into the tournament, to be completely honest. I think that's how a lot of teams are. They don't have the best season, but it's about when you peak as a team. I don't think we've reached our fullest potential yet this year, so I'm hoping it will happen during tournament time."

Taking care of business would be an apt description for most of the season. The first three losses were to Notre Dame, North Carolina and Florida State ? teams that were ranked No. 1, 2 and 6 in last week's national poll. Two of the ties were to Virginia (No. 6) and Boston College (No. 13). The prime anomaly was a 1-0 upset loss at Virginia Tech in the regular season finale.

Duke has outscored the opposition 45-17 in 19 regular season matches this year, compared to its 34-21 differential in 23 matches last season. Twelve of the 17 goals given up came in the four losses. The rest of the time, the Blue Devils have indeed taken care of business ? a fact that McDonald attributes in part to the Blue Devils' "nameless faceless opponents" mantra.

"That's something that we've worked on, whether we're playing Carolina or a team we've never heard of before," she says. "That's something that we really want to do when we play, so that we focus on ourselves and the way we should play rather than on our opponent. Obviously you have strategies for certain teams, but we want it to be more about us, because that is when you are the most successful on the field."

McDonald has enjoyed four years of personal success on the field, contributing as one of the regular forwards her first season before converting to defense, where she has started nearly every match the last three years. She has also conquered severe adversity, bouncing back from brain surgery to remove a tumor following her freshman year without missing a beat athletically ? an accomplishment that led to her receiving the 2007 Wilma Rudolph Student-Athlete Award.

The brain operation caused her to permanently lose the hearing in her left ear. That required some significant adjustments early on, including her positioning on the field. She plays mostly on the left side so her deaf ear is facing away from the action and her good ear toward her teammates to better facilitate communication. Having dealt with it for three seasons now, she says it is not much of an issue any more.

"It's very much a part of who I am now," she says. "I get a lot of jokes about it. I don't hear that well sometimes, but it's not a big deal and it can be humorous at times. I think I've adjusted very well to it.

"It wasn't as hard to adjust to as I thought it might be. Directionally I can't tell where things come from, so if I don't know where my cell phone is and it's ringing, it can sometimes be a disaster trying to find it. But I don't think it's a big deal. And I can get away with it sometimes by saying I can't hear someone in a situation where I really just don't want to.

"I use that a little bit to my advantage at times," she admits with a laugh. "The only time it becomes a big deal (on the field) is when we're playing a certain game (in practice) where there are a lot of balls going around at the same time and people have to call your name so you know who to pass it to. That doesn't work for me."

While soccer has long been a passion for McDonald, she has discovered another one over the past couple of years at Duke ? acting. Her current course load includes two acting classes and a directing class, while her study abroad program last summer enabled her to study acting at Accademia dell'Arte in Arezzo, Italy.

During the five-week session there, she appeared in a film that was shown locally and was placed in a film festival in Raleigh this fall. She and three other students from Duke who were involved in the project attended the festival to share their experiences.

The commitment to soccer has kept McDonald from participating in many theatrical productions on campus, other than a 10-minute play last spring. But she hopes to do more this coming spring when her soccer career is complete, and then after graduation as well.

"It is an aspiration," she says of her interest in acting. "I still have a lot to learn and I'm really enjoying the learning process. I love doing it and can't see myself finding anything else I'm more passionate about. It's something I would like to pursue."

But first, there is a little more soccer to pursue, as a final postseason beckons for the senior core of the Duke team ? Kelly Hathorn, Kelly McCann, Sheila Kramer, Lorraine Quinn and Cassidy Powers. McDonald calls this her happiest season at Duke, and tournament time is the most exciting portion of the season.

"The girls on the team are my best friends and I enjoy being around them," says McDonald, one of 10 finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, which goes to the top senior soccer player in the nation. "I'm a very competitive person and I love being in these situations. It's something I know is coming to an end, so it is something that is very easy for me to appreciate how special the opportunity is to play in games like this.

"I will always be the biggest Duke advocator ever," she adds. "I absolutely love Duke and I couldn't imagine myself anywhere else. It's the best decision I ever made in my life to come here. I will be sad to leave but I will come back because I do consider this my home now and I'm very, very fond of the institution.

"That (feeling) is definitely soccer-related. But school-related, I think if I hadn't played soccer this would still be the place I wanted to come. I have about a dozen teachers I could name that have impacted me. I just love this place. The dual with athletics and academics is very hard to find across the country and I'm very grateful for that."