Duke looks to dethrone Monarchs

The field hockey team did not take last weekend's loss to top-ranked Wake Forest very well.  

"They're a little angry at themselves," said head coach Beth Bozman about her team. "I don't think they lost any confidence; I think they're angry at our inability to stick to our game plan. That's the kind of response we'd like to get."  

This Sunday, the fourth-ranked Blue Devils (4-1) hope to put this angry energy to good use against fifth-ranked Old Dominion (4-2) at Duke's Williams Field. The Monarchs are led by senior midfielder Angie Loy, who was named the Colonial Athletic Association Field Hockey Player of the Week last week.  

"Angie Loy is clearly their best player," Bozman said. "She's the heart and soul of their team. I think we are a very solid team, and if we can play with all 11 of our players, we won't need to worry about her."  

Practice this week was centered on getting more shots. Duke was only credited with three shots for the entire game against the Demon Deacons.   

"We reviewed the stats and we actually had more shots than we were credited with," Bozman said. "But still, we need it to get a lot better."  

A big reason the Blue Devils had trouble generating shots was that they had only one corner during the entire game. Against top-echelon teams, Duke needs to be more aggressive and draw more penalties in the circle in order to create offensive opportunities.  

Duke and Old Dominion haven't shared a common opponent thus far this year. Old Dominion's two losses have come at the hands of No. 8 Penn St. and No. 3 Maryland.   

Junior Chrissie Murphy, who has five goals so far this season, is very confident that Duke will be next to defeat the Monarchs.  

"In the back of our minds, if someone is ranked below us, we have to beat them," Murphy said. "We definitely should win this game and can win this game."