The Devil's in the Details: Week of Oct. 17

Kayla McCoy scored two goals to propel Duke to its 16th straight win.
Kayla McCoy scored two goals to propel Duke to its 16th straight win.

They say the devil is in the details. But in Durham, the Blue Devils are in the details—and numbers.

Each week, the Blue Zone will dissect five key stats from last week's action in Duke sports, whether they be historic or underwhelming. This week, let the numbers take you inside another defeat for Duke football and continued soccer and field hockey success. 

16

Duke women’s soccer continued its program record winning-streak by recording its 15th and 16th straight victories this past week on the road. On Thursday, the No. 4 Blue Devils defeated Boston College 2-1 thanks to Schuyler DeBree’s long range strike from around midfield. Duke, which was outshot 18-13, let up its first goal in October against the Eagles. Saturday, however, the Blue Devils shutout Syracuse 2-0, behind two first-half goals from Kayla McCoy. Goalie EJ Proctor brought her season goals-against average down to 0.47 with five saves over the two games. If not for a heartbreaking 2-1 overtime loss to then-No. 6 North Carolina to open the season, Duke would be undefeated today at 17-0-0. 

Find out the whole story - DeBree's long-distance score pushes Duke women's soccer's win streak to 15 AND McCoy scores twice in comfortable Duke women's soccer victory at Syracuse

336

Up until the last two games Duke’s rushing defense had been a consistent force that has rarely failed to deliver. The Blue Devils had only allowed 108 rushing yards-per-game and limited opposing backs to around three yards per carry. However, against Pittsburgh, a team that had not beaten a Power Five team before Saturday, Duke was gashed for 336 yards. Darrin Hall led a group that averaged 5.9 yards-per-carry with 254 yards of his own and all of the Panthers’ three touchdowns. Two of Hall’s touchdowns came on explosive rushes of 79 and 92 yards—a problem that has plagued the Blue Devils all season long. 

Find out the whole story—Poor run defense highlights cacophony of errors for Duke football vs. Pittsburgh

13

To the excitement of Duke students, the Blue Devils opened their basketball season with another edition of Countdown to Craziness Friday at Cameron Indoor Stadium. In the annual Blue-White scrimmage, the leading scorers for the Blue and White squads—Gary Trent and Grayson Allen, respectively—each had 13 points. Trent led the Blue team to a 43-41 victory, shooting 50 percent from the field and 60 percent from downtown. Allen, who got into a shootout with the freshman when the two hit consecutive threes on one another, scored his 13 by scoring almost exclusively on exclusively 3-pointers, going four-for-nine and tacking on a free throw.

Find out the whole story—10 observations from Countdown to Craziness

2

With two victories this week, the Duke field hockey team will enter the ACC Tournament Nov. 2 as a two-seed. On Friday, the No. 2 Blue Devils defeated No. 5 North Carolina 3-2 to clinch the second best spot in the ACC. Two days later, Duke avoided a road scare from an unranked Liberty team by defeating the Flames 4-3 in overtime, thanks to a goal from Rose Tynan.

Find out the whole story - Duke field hockey holds off No. 5 North Carolina in ACC finale AND Tynan's overtime game-winner helps Duke field hockey survive scare from Liberty

8

After falling eight spots in the Nike Collegiate Invitational two weeks ago, Duke men’s golf once again struggled in the final round at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate, dropping from a tie for 2nd all the way to 10th place. After shooting 12-under-par and 9-under-par through two rounds, Alex Smalley and Chandler Eaton, respectively, both shot over par in the final rounds en route to the Blue Devils shooting the second-worst round of the tournament, an 8-over-par 296.

Find out the whole story - Duke men's golf slips on final day for second straight tournament

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