After a 8-7 loss to No. 5 Virginia last week, No. 6 Duke is looking to bounce back against No. 1 Northwestern and Davidson Saturday and Sunday at Koskinen Stadium.
The Blue Devils (9-2, 1-2 in the ACC) hold a 2-5 all-time record against Northwestern and have lost four straight since a 16-10 win against the top-ranked team almost four years ago.
Northwestern (8-0) currently boasts a 37-game winning streak and is the five-time defending national champion. The team boasts the nation’s top offense, averaging 17 goals per game. The trio of Shannon Smith, Danielle Spencer and Katrina Dowd each has more than 30 points on the year.
Despite Northwestern’s longstanding tradition of success, however, Duke remains unfazed, and is looking to make up for its close loss against the Cavaliers.
The Blue Devils trailed 4-6 at halftime to Virginia and scored one more to narrow the lead to one point, but a turnover with under two minutes to play ended Duke’s run for a six-game winning streak and dropped it to fourth in the ACC.
Following the Blue Devils contest against Northwestern will be a contest against Davidson (5-6) Sunday. Duke is 9-0 against the Wildcats and defeated them 17-5 last season on the road.
Duke has been adjusting to a new offensive scheme and a new a goalie all season after graduating the team’s top players last season. After this weekend, the Blue Devils will only have two more games to work out those kinks, facing No. 19 Boston College and No. 2 North Carolina—both conference foes—to finish the season.
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