On the sidelines of Duke's practice Thursday, a whiteboard displayed the words "Consequences, Changes, Urgency."
The motto has become representative of the Blue Devils' new attitude.
"Ever since the ODU game, our focus has been on all three of those things," head coach Beth Bozman said.
No. 11 Duke has a chance to see how well it can execute on its mantra this weekend.
The Blue Devils (7-6) take on Longwood (5-10) Saturday at 1 p.m. in Norfolk, Va. before attempting to avenge an early-season defeat to No. 10 Old Dominion (8-6) Sunday at 1 p.m. also in Norfolk. The Monarchs defeated Duke 1-0 Sept. 16 at Williams Field.
The Blue Devils know that intensity is key if they want to even the season series with Old Dominion.
"Last time, we let up," freshman Susan Ferger said. "We have to go out and play hard the whole game. We have to keep focus for 70 minutes."
The loss to the Monarchs was especially frustrating for Duke because it won every statistical category. The Blue Devils outshot Old Dominion 19-11 and held a 12-6 advantage in attempted penalty corners.
To maximize scoring opportunities, Duke honed in on finishing near the net this week in practice, working primarily in 2-on-1 drills to take the ball downfield.
The Blue Devil offense already has shown tangible improvement in finishing since the midway point of the season. Duke tallied a total of six goals in its road wins over Boston College and Boston University and was able to score twice in a 4-2 loss undefeated and defending national champion Maryland last Saturday.
The Monarchs have showed similar signs of improvement. The win over Duke sparked Old Dominion to a seven-game winning streak that has yet to end.
Though a rematch with a non-conference opponent this late in the season is fairly unusual, the Blue Devils believe they can learn valuable lessons from another contest with the Monarchs.
"They're a great barometer for where you are," Bozman said. "It's an opportunity to play a really top team twice."
Duke knows that playing hard will not just pay dividends for this weekend. Two more road wins could be valuable later.
"If we can win both games this weekend, we'll carry a lot of momentum into the last three games of the season," Ferger said.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.