Heading into this weekend's action at Williams Field, No. 4 Duke knew it would be facing an uphill battle. With four starters playing in Chile in the Junior World Cup, the Blue Devils were faced with playing a pair of top-10 opponents on consecutive days with only two substitutes on the bench.
Duke's efforts were met with mixed results as the Blue Devils (5-2) split their two contests, beating No. 10 Iowa 3-2 Saturday and losing to No. 9 Old Dominion 5-2 Sunday.
Duke struggled out of the gate against the Monarchs (3-4), with Old Dominion's offense dictating the tempo for much of the game's early play. The Monarchs kept the ball in the Blue Devils' circle for the majority of the first half, pressuring Duke's defense with 22 shots and eight corners while keeping the ball away from the Blue Devils' talented forwards.
"You got to be in the attacking circle to take shots," head coach Beth Bozman said. "They put us on our heels a lot, they really executed and played a really smart first half."
Old Dominion opened the scoring 6:52 into the game when forward Shannon Mobley knocked in a rebound past the outstretched arms of goalie Christy Morgan. Less than two minutes later, the Monarchs struck again on a corner as Denise Admiraal took a Janelle Engle pass and lifted it over Morgan's head for the two-score lead. The Monarchs tacked on one more goal before the end of the period, giving them a 3-0 halftime advantage and leaving Duke with a lot to talk about during the intermission.
"We're not taking individual responsibility, and all year we've been talking about individual responsibility for a team effort," Bozman said. "That's what we really focused on at halftime."
The Blue Devils, however, did not respond immediately at the start of the second half. The Monarchs continued to pressure Duke's defense and scored on another penalty corner five minutes into the half, giving them a 4-0 lead and effectively putting the game out of reach for the shorthanded Blue Devil squad.
"The bottom line was that it was two halves," Bozman said. "We needed to come out and play the way we were supposed to in the first half."
Although Duke would break its scoring drought on a Marcy Burns goal 70 seconds later, it was unable to translate the score into a larger momentum swing. Forward Nicole Dudek was kept quiet for much of the game while the offense struggled to find its groove without Junior World Cup participants Katie Grant, Cara-Lynn Lopresti, Amy Stopford and Hilary Linton.
"We have a lot of great forwards but I really need support," Dudek said. "I miss them."
Morgan's start in net was her first of the season after seeing limited action the first six games while coping with a recurring back injury. The senior captain made 14 saves on the day, 10 of which came in the first half.
"I thought she looked great," Bozman said. "She helped keep us in the game in the first half, and the team rallied around her in the second half."
On Saturday, Duke captured its first home win of the season after holding off a second-half Iowa rally. The Hawkeyes (6-3) were similarly shorthanded, with four of their starters participating in the Junior World Cup. Without their full roster, Iowa struggled offensively, managing just 12 shots in the game.
Dudek scored her sixth goal of the season 5:44 into the contest, off a corner with assists from Burns and Marian Dickinson. Burns was the leading scorer for the Blue Devils, tallying Duke's next two goals while sophomore goalie Caitlin Williams recorded six saves for her fifth victory of the season.
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