The bell of the Blue Zone stock exchange has rung again, meaning it's time to take a look at who is rising and falling with their performances for Blue Devil sports teams. Each week, the Blue Zone will look at whose stock is on the rise and whose stock has taken a hit from the week in the world of Duke athletics.
Bull Market—Trending Up:
Duke field hockey: The Blue Devils continued to dominate as the No. 2 team in the nation against James Madison Sunday. To build off Friday’s comeback 3-2 win against No. 11 Virginia, captain and senior forward Heather Morris scored four of the Blue Devils' seven goals against the Dukes in a 7-1 victory. Morris’ four goals put her in a tie for third in the program record books for most goals in a single game. Duke improved to 6-0 with the two wins, matching the 1978 and 2014 seasons for the strongest start in program history. The Blue Devils will hope continue their upward trend on the road this week at No. 8 Louisville Sept. 16 and Miami (Ohio) Sept. 18.
Duke women’s soccer: After struggling against No. 4 West Virginia on Friday, the sixth-ranked Blue Devils got back on track with a 4-1 blowout victory against High Point Sunday to improve to 5-2-1. The first 20 minutes of the game against the Panthers did not seem promising—the Blue Devils missed their first eight shots, and the first three were not on target. It was not until goalkeeper E.J. Proctor saved High Point’s first attempt on goal in the 21st minute that the Blue Devils were able to seize the momentum and quickly score their first of four goals. Duke will try to win its second straight game this Saturday against Boston College at home.
Bear Market—Trending Down:
Kickers in North Carolina: Both Duke kicker A.J. Reed and Carolina Panthers kicker Graham Gano struggled to put points on the board for their teams last week. Gano missed a potential game-winning 50-yard kick in the closing seconds of the Panthers' 21-20 loss to the Broncos in their season-opener Thursday night. Reed similarly struggled against Wake Forest Saturday, missing a 30-yard field goal early in the second quarter on the first attempt of his career and sending a 43-yard attempt wide right on the last play of the first half. The Blue Devils lost 24-14 and return to the field at Northwestern Saturday night.
Duke volleyball: The Blue Devils have struggled in four of their last five games, losing to UNC 1-3 Sept. 1, TCU 2-3 Sept. 2, Long Beach State 2-3 Friday night and Loyola Marymount 0-3 Saturday night to slip to 4-4 on the season. Duke's only bright spot during that stretch was a dominant sweep against Harvard Friday afternoon. Head coach Jolene Nagel's team is now preparing to play Campbell this Friday at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
House Bill 2: The North Carolina legislature's refusal to repeal its controversial HB2 law forced the NCAA to move postseason events in seven sports out of the state for the 2016-17 year. Duke men's basketball will no longer be able to play NCAA tournament games in Greensboro in March, and the Blue Devil women's soccer team will not compete in Cary, N.C., for the second straight year if it returns to the College Cup.
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