"We hadn't been out there as a team playing like that in a while, and you almost forget what it feels like," senior midfielder Dan Oppedisano said. "The big thing about today was we're back on the field and having fun. And it couldn't have been more fun. It was unbelievable."
The crowd of 6,485 -- a few hundred shy of the school record -- rivaled that typically drawn by Duke's woeful football team.
Even the players -- who said they were treating the game like any other -- seemed wowed by all the attention.
"It was one of those times in athletics that you only get a couple of," junior midfielder Bo Carrington said. "I was trying to talk to the younger guys and say, 'Take this in. This is amazing.'
"We had a lot on our shoulders and it was good to get out there again."
In many ways, the game was aimed at giving new coach John Danowski and the program a fresh start. Still, there were memories of the past year's turmoil everywhere.
The Blue Devils wore black warm-up jerseys bearing Nos. 6, 13, or 45 -- the numbers of charged players David Evans, Collin Finnerty, and Reade Seligmann. Rape charges were dropped against the three in December. They are still charged with sexually assaulting and kidnapping a stripper, who told police she was raped by three men in a bathroom during a team party last March.
Fans wore buttons with slogans such as "Innocent until proven innocent" and "Fantastic lies" -- which is what Evans called the accusations the day he was indicted.
