Diverting from their normal routine, Duke men's lacrosse players asked coaches to leave the locker room before the start of the 2007 men's NCAA Tournament lacrosse final.

Emotions -- joy, anger and fear -- danced inside the bellies of the top-seeded Blue Devils players who had reached the national championship game just one year after their university had suspended the season because of players' involvement in a highly publicized rape case.

So players took a moment to huddle together, showing a sign of solidarity and understanding as they stepped on to what they considered the biggest stage of their athletic careers.

"We said, 'Look guys this is the culmination of something no other team in sports has gone through. Let's go make it happen,' " Duke fifth-year senior defender Tony McDevitt recalled. "In hindsight, I think we put a little too much pressure on ourselves to go out and win."

It showed.

The Blue Devils fell 12-11 to Johns Hopkins, losing to the Blue Jays for the second time in a championship game.

Today, the top-seeded and top-ranked Blue Devils (18-1 overall) will face fourth-seeded Johns Hopkins again in the NCAA tournament, this time in the semifinals at Foxborough, Mass., at 2:30 p.m.

This year's Blue Devils enter the Final Four with far fewer clouds hovering overhead. Players say this year's team is no longer defined by the past, which has relieved some pressure and freed them to concentrate on lacrosse.

Players smile more at practice and revel in the fast-pace, high-scoring game that has garnered the Devils' attention as the nation's best.

"We've established a new identity, and it's allowed for everybody on the team to say, 'That stuff is gone,' " McDevitt said of the rape accusations that rocked Durham, shocked the Duke campus and drew national attention.

Last year, three former Duke lacrosse players -- David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann -- were declared innocent of charges brought against them in 2006 and cleared of accusations levied by an escort service dancer who said she had been raped at a party thrown by team members.

Duke coach John Danowski, hired last season to replace former coach Mike Pressler, who resigned, said players were burdened with anxiety and tension, feeling as though they had to be perfect to prove their worth.

He said the request for the meeting before the national championship stunned him, though he understood the weight players were carrying.

"I think we were too emotional coming out at the beginning of the game," he said. "I thought we were tight."

Duke senior attackman Zack Greer said players wanted to believe that off-the-field issues did not distract them but realistically that was not the case. It caught up with them before the final.

"There's so many things that maybe you thought would be fixed or forgotten if we were to come out and win a championship," he said. "Whereas this year, it's just about playing and it's just about having fun."

A different story

This season, the storyline for Duke has centered on the four seniors -- Dan Loftus, Nick O'Hara, Matt Danowski and McDevitt -- who returned after the NCAA ruled that members of the 2006 team that was suspended would be granted an additional year of eligibility.

They have made the most of that opportunity, working toward graduate degrees and stamping their names in the history books.

With a 21-10 win over Ohio Sate in the quarterfinals, the Blue Devils set an NCAA single-season record with 18 wins. Duke enters the national semifinals on a 10-game winning streak, matching the second-longest streak in school history.

The Blue Devils own the top-scoring offense in the nation and are defeating teams by a NCAA-leading 8.37 margin.

This season, attackman Matt Danowski became the NCAA's all-time leading scorer with 350 career points, while Greer set the record for career goals, with 205.

Loftus, who will start his 49th game in net, owns a career save percentage of 7.30, fifth all-time in NCAA history.

The Blue Devils defeated the Blue Jays 17-6 on April 5, but Duke has beaten Johns Hopkins only once in three post-season meetings. In 1997, they claimed a 12-11 overtime victory in the quarterfinals.

John Danowski said his team has found a higher level of play compared to last season because players have relaxed. He won't waste breath trying to keep them on task this weekend.

"It's only one thing that's on their minds," he said, referring to a chance to win Duke's first national title.

Matt Danowski, who could play just two more games for his father, said players have not worried about the past as they've prepared for this weekend.

He said they don't plan to make the game bigger than it is.

"When it comes down to it, it's just a game," Matt Danowski said. "You can't prove anything on the field. You can't prove people wrong on the field. You can't prove your character or your family on the field."

As for last-minute player-only meetings and changes to their routine, McDevitt added: "There is no need for it."