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Different Roads Lead Duke's Taylor Racioppi And Cassie Pecht To Success

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Courtesy Shane Lardinois Duke's hopes depend heavily on Taylor Racioppi, left, a player who has a chance to be the national freshman of the year, and Cassie Pecht, right, a player who is back on the field for the first time since winning that honor in 2012.

Cassie Pecht and Taylor Racioppi had played games that mattered more than the one that awaited them on an August afternoon. For one thing, most games count. The regular season and classes both a week away and summer still stifling in North Carolina, all the day offered the Duke teammates was a preseason encounter against Clemson.