After coming home empty-handed from their weekend trip to the West Coast, the Blue Devils will try to get back to their secret sauce on their two-game homestand—dominating the draw.
No. 12 Duke will welcome Elon and No. 16 Pennsylvania to Koskinen Stadium, hosting the Phoenix Thursday at 4 p.m. before taking on the Quakers Sunday at 1 p.m. The Blue Devils fell to then-No. 19 Southern California Saturday in Costa Mesa, Calif., unable to manufacture anything on offense for large swaths of the game. The Trojans battled Duke to a 9-9 tie in draw controls—helping keeping the ball out of the Blue Devils' sticks—and forced 14 turnovers that created extra possessions for the de facto home team.
Duke (2-2) has held a firm advantage in draw controls in its two wins this season, besting Campbell 14-11 and dominating Navy 23-6. Freshman Olivia Jenner has had a big part in that success, posting a team-high 27 draw controls through her first four games in a Blue Devil uniform.
Jenner's continued ability to win Duke possessions will be critical against an Elon team starting to put the pieces together in the third year of the program. The Phoenix (3-0) have raced out to a fast start, albeit not against teams of the Blue Devils' caliber. Sloane Kessler has powered the Elon attack in the early going with 10 goals and three assists through three games, with Stephanie Asher and Amanda Romano preparing to challenge Jenner at the draw.
A few days after dealing with the Phoenix—who are coached by longtime Duke assistant coach Josh Hexter—the Blue Devils will set their sights on Pennsylvania (1-0) and their first win of the year against a ranked opponent. Head coach Kerstin Kimel's squad fell short in a back-and-forth contest against then-No. 4 Northwestern during the season's opening weekend and then could not close the gap on the Trojans in the second half Saturday, but will be hoping for a different result by the time Sunday afternoon rolls around.
The Quakers opened their season with a 12-10 win against Delaware, highlighted by Nina Corcoran's two goals and four assists. The senior attacker joined midfielder Lely DeSimone as a preseason All-American, and will command the attention of the Blue Devil defense, which got a boost Saturday with the return of defender Claire Scarrone to the lineup. Scarrone—a senior captain and Duke's lone All-ACC selection—missed the first three games of the year recovering from an injury.
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