As Duke has developed into a perennial powerhouse, it has been rare for the team to come in as a true underdog in any contest. But facing No. 1 Northwestern Sunday afternoon in Koskinen Stadium, the seventh-ranked Blue Devils found themselves matched up against a Goliath.
The Wildcats (11-0), who have won three consecutive NCAA titles and are riding a 32-game winning streak, played faster and stronger than pesky Duke (7-5) and came away with a 15-11 victory.
Although the Blue Devils entered Sunday's contest having lost three straight, they were not bothered by their recent rough patch or the imposing Wildcats.
"We went into [the game] knowing there was nothing to lose and we felt really loose ready to run a different type of offense," freshman Emma Hamm said. "They're very aggressive so it's just beneficial to move the ball a lot and then freelance."
Still, Duke struggled early to keep up with Northwestern. The team looked a bit shell-shocked as the Wildcats' Danielle Spencer and Hilary Bowen put up two unassisted goals each within the first 12 minutes.
Even after the Blue Devils scored, Northwestern's Brooke Matthews responded with a stunning individual effort, racing from midfield and dodging Duke defenders to notch the team's fifth goal.
But the Blue Devils bounced back.
Northwestern goalkeeper Morgan Lathrop made the cage look impenetrable early with several impressive saves, but by slowing down the pace of the game, Duke started to find the back of the net. Beginning with a goal by Hamm, who rolled out from the back of the cage to sneak one past Lathrop, the Blue Devils went on a 7-1 run and finished the first half up, 8-6.
"I was very pleased with the first half," head coach Kerstin Kimel said. "We played as complete a game in the first half as we have all season.... We really were just very positive in the locker room at halftime, praising the kids for doing a great job and sticking to the gameplan."
But Duke had its work cut out for it in the second period as the Wildcats stormed onto the field, recording two goals in the first four minutes.
"We felt confident. We felt great about [our play], but we knew the game wasn't over," senior midfielder Allie Johnson said. "There's 60 minutes in a game-we had 30 more to play. So we came out with the mentality that it was 0-0...[and] they weren't going to roll over and die."
Northwestern continued its strong second-half response and went up 13-9 with 13:42 left in the game off a strike from midfielder Casey Donahoe. The Blue Devils came back with a goal from Hamm, sparked from a full-field sprint by sophomore Danielle Kachulis.
But that run was made on Duke's last legs.
With little left in the tank, the Blue Devils only scored once more and proved unable to mount a second four-goal comeback.
It was the fourth loss in a row for Duke-all of which have come at the hands of ranked opponents. The game against Northwestern marked the seventh time in eight matches in which the Duke squad has faced a ranked foe.
What is impressive in this stretch of defeats, however, is that the Blue Devils have avoided becoming deflated.
"We definitely took a big step today," Johnson said. "We have kind of been in a little bit of a rut, but we put together a good performance. We didn't win, but Northwestern's a good team and they played well. I think we made a step in the right direction."
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