It's all about soccer

CARY -- Herb Neubauer himself - Duke's Crazy Towel Guy - was there.

That was the first sign they were kicking for keeps Wednesday at the WakeMed Soccer Park.

It was the opening round of the ACC women's soccer tournament. This, by the way, is one of those ACC tournaments that actually requires a cover charge to get through the door. The bottom four teams after regular-season games stay home. You've got to be fairly decent just to book.

According to some of the soccer insiders on hand, Wednesday's quarterfinal assignment opposite powerful Florida State was a must-win situation for the Blue Devils. The remaining seven ACC teams are virtually certain of landing bids to the NCAA's 64-team tournament. Duke sat on the bubble.

"This is serious stuff," Neubauer, white towel safely draped over right shoulder, said. "We should get a bid, but it's going to be too close to take for granted. It's uphill against these Florida State players, too. We're a young team."

Too young and too much uphill, it turned out. The Devils, seeded eighth, battled gamely, but the top-seeded Seminoles (not North Carolina, mind you) bled out a 2-0 victory that sends them into Friday's semifinals.

The way the tournament is formatted, there's a fair amount of down time for survivors. The quarterfinal victors get today off, then the finalists get an off date on Saturday. The championship won't be staged until Sunday at 2 p.m., which leaves a lot of time for diversions.

That being the case, I figured there would be great opportunity for the players and coaches to mess around the Triangle, maybe see the sights (where else can you find a metal acorn the size of a Jupiter moon?), maybe take in a nice meal at the Tobacco District, Glenwood South, Franklin Street or Cameron Village.

Well, forget that. Asked what they might do with their free Thursday, FSU stars Tiffany McCarty and Erin McNulty looked downright confused.

"Hmm," McCarty, one of the nation's best forwards, said.

McNulty, the winning goalkeeper, gave it one of those "Oh, well, wow, well now, wow, well now, oh, ah. Let me think about that a minute" looks.

Then coach Mark Krikorian rode to the front with a "No chance, no chance" that the Seminoles would be out on their own. The plan for today: Study. Sleep. Practice.

"The potential of three games in five days is a lot," Krikorian said. "And if we're successful Friday, there's potential of us playing five games in nine or 10 days. It's demanding."

In other words, serious stuff.