The Blue Devils traveled to Wake Forest Saturday weighed down by a load of disadvantages that proved too heavy for the 10th-ranked squad.
Duke (2-3) competed against the Demon Deacons (4-0) and last week's ACC co-player of the week, Jenny Everett, but also against an unfamiliar sand turf surface, a rash of injuries and a recent scoring slump.
The Demon Deacons capitalized on all of their advantages to blank the Blue Devils 6-0. The win marked Wake's third shutout in four games, adding Duke to a list that already includes Louisville and Appalachian State.
This was not a new distinction for Duke, as the Blue Devils also limped back from Winston-Salem last season without scoring a single goal.
Wake is the only team that practices and competes on the sandy turf surface, which slows the ball as well as the flow of the game, giving the Deacs a marginal, yet discernible home field advantage.
"Their turf is a lot different from the turf we play on," said junior defensive back Courtney Sommer. "But I don't feel like the difference in their turf will cause a win or a loss."
Injuries also played a small part in the loss as three players were on crutches and Sarah Wright had an emergency appendectomy 10 days ago. The Blue Devils were left with few subs to spell the starters during the 35-minute halves.
Duke's scoring slump is what concerns Sommer the most, as the Blue Devils have scored only one goal in over 145 minutes of play.
"We lost the game inside the defensive 25 and inside the offensive 25," the third team All-American said. "When we got inside the offensive 25, we didn't execute corners or take enough shots."
The Demon Deacon offense began its barrage of shots early. Everett drew first blood after 12 minutes of play on a pass from sophomore Jemima Cameron. Everett added the team's fifth goal with 15:18 remaining in the second half.
Duke's offense floundered on Wake's sandy shores, offering only seven shots on goal against the Demon Deacons' 19.
In fact, penalty corners remained the only statistic that was comparable for both teams. Wake attempted nine while the Blue Devils failed to convert any of their seven chances.
On the defensive end, sophomore goalie Hallie Smith recorded eight saves. Smith took over goalkeeping duties from senior Jenn Robb, who is still rehabilitating after an off-season shoulder injury.
After the loss, Sommer is still optimistic about the team's shortcomings.
"We're going to try to break out of our scoring slump," Sommer said. "We have faith in what we can become as a team."
The Blue Devils will attempt to return to the .500 mark tonight when they host Radford at 7 p.m. at the East Campus Turf Field.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.