Two words echoed throughout Williams Field when the Blue Devils broke their huddle after practice Wednesday.
"Leave nothing."
Inspired by the Nike advertisement, No. 10 Duke (3-3) has incorporated the simple phrase in its approach to games, transforming the words into a team-wide philosophy.
"It means that we're working so hard all the time after practice or after a game that there's nothing left to give," freshman Susan Ferger said.
The Blue Devils will have to play with that kind of intensity to come out of this weekend with two victories. Duke hosts Drexel (3-3) 1 p.m. Saturday before clashing with No. 13 Old Dominion (1-4) 1 p.m. Sunday.
Despite the slow starts of their opponents, the Blue Devils know that they are in for a pair of stiff challenges.
"Drexel is going to be a pretty tough game for us. They're pretty solid defensively," head coach Beth Bozman said. "ODU is a great barometer for every team. They don't look as good in the winning column as they have in the past, but make no mistake-we know they're a very talented team."
For Duke to win this weekend, it must do something that it has not been able to the past two weekends-finish.
In its losses to No. 4 Iowa and No. 5 Wake Forest, the Blue Devils out-shot and out-cornered their respective opponents. The loss last weekend to the Demon Deacons was particularly galling, as Duke dominated possession in the second half and had numerous opportunities to trim Wake Forest's lead.
To remedy this problem, the Blue Devils have honed in on offensive execution this week in practice. Duke spent the end of Wednesday's practice working continuously on its penalty corners.
"We've been focusing on the same things, trying to execute the skills and goals of our game plan," Ferger said. "A lot of times, we just talk about what we're going to do, but this week we're going to run our attack."
The Blue Devils' offensive production will need to be higher if they want to break a two-game losing streak against Old Dominion. Last year's contest came down to the wire with Duke falling 4-3 to the Monarchs in double overtime at home.
The Blue Devils are looking at this season's matchup with Old Dominion as a way to demonstrate how much they have learned from their previous losses.
"This weekend is our chance to show how much we have improved," freshman forward Camille Dagorn said. "We have a good chance to see where we are and how much we've improved."
With a new, inspired mentality, Duke hopes that its strides in practice can translate into wins. One thing is for certain-when the Blue Devils take the field, they will not hold anything back.
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