Mired in a three-game slide following a string of strenuous road games, the Blue Devils couldn't have picked a less friendly destination than Norfolk, Va.
Fifth-ranked Old Dominion (3-1) had nearly a year to stew over a stunning upset at the hands of Duke last September that snapped the Lady Monarchs' streak of consecutive series wins at 11. At the time, the victory for the upstart Blue Devils was likened to David's improbable knockout of Goliath.
But Saturday, it was a vengeful Lady Monarch squad led by hard-hitting senior midfielder Marina DiGiacomo that was slinging the hardest of shots. When DiGiacomo finished her a three-goal, one-assist, one-takedown performance in her team's 5-0 shutout, the Blue Devils (0-4) were left without a goal, still without a win and most importantly on this upsetting afternoon, without a player.
After pounding home the first two goals of the game, DiGiacomo opened the second half with a line-drive penalty corner that sent a charging Kim Susko reeling from the shot to her face. Susko, a senior midfielder, was taken to the infirmary and diagnosed with probable fractures in her cheek bone following a blast estimated at 60-70 mph at a range of less than five feet. Susko's injury is likely season-ending, and a plastic surgery will determine whether she needs to have the lacerations on her face corrected.
Focusing on the still-young season at hand, however, her teammates continue to insist that all is not lost this season.
"It's obviously been disappointing, but at the same time we have played three very highly ranked teams," goalkeeper Erica Perrier said. "On paper, it looks like we have had a really rough start to the season, but there were some tough teams in there.
"As far as general morale is concerned, we still know that we are a good team and we know the wins will start coming."
DiGiacomo's blast was only one of 11 penalty corners yielded by the Blue Devils, who enabled the Lady Monarchs to move close into Duke territory frequently and pile up a 12-shot advantage.
On the other end of the field, legitimate threats were far more sparse as the ODU defense kept Duke's attackers away from the crease.
With only one or two people able to penetrate at a time, the Blue Devils had very few second-chance opportunities to put the ball in the net.
"We had many opportunities to score in the second half, but we never got many second shots off," Duke coach Liz Tchou said. "I think they were a much better team that they were last year. They are definitely a top-five team this season."
The second half was not only the more opportunistic half for Duke's offense, it was a far more successful 35 minutes for Perrier and the Blue Devil defense.
Whereas the Lady Monarchs tallied four goals in a whirlwind first half, the Blue Devils performed admirably by yielding only a single goal to DiGiacomo early in the second half. If they are to end their losing ways, however, the Blue Devils know they need to demonstrate that caliber of play throughout each contest.
"We came out a lot stronger in the second half, but we basically need to start picking it up for the whole game," Perrier said.
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