Sportswrap is your one-stop shop for everything Duke athletics, where we’ll recap how each of Duke’s sports currently in competition performed over the last week and give a brief look ahead. Here’s our recap for the week of Aug. 30-Sept. 5.
Women’s soccer
Duke women’s soccer is approaching unforeseen heights. The fifth-ranked Blue Devils struck early against No. 10 Stanford and met a Cardinal SportsCenter Top 10-worthy equalizer with an even better direct goal. It’s Duke’s fourth win against a preseason-ranked team en route to Robbie Church’s first 5-0-0 start, and after Stanford took No. 2 North Carolina to overtime Sunday, it looks even better. East Carolina comes to Durham Thursday for the Blue Devils’ last nonconference matchup. -Em Adler
Football
It was a brutal week for Duke football fans. The Blue Devils (0-1) lost 31-28 to Charlotte, a team which had never beaten a Power Five program. Missed tackles plagued the squad from Charlotte’s opening drive to the final whistle, and Charlotte quarterback Chris Reynolds never looked uncomfortable in the pocket. The lone bright spot was running back Mataeo Durant and his 255 rushing yards, which are a school record, and his three touchdowns. Duke hosts North Carolina A&T Friday night. -Jake Piazza
Men’s soccer
The Blue Devils are off to a hot start, taking all three of their first games and not allowing a goal up to this point. They came out on top against Michigan 1-0 last Thursday and No. 24 Duke(3-0) scored multiple goals in two of its three games. There’s some talented freshmen making a splash, with Ruben Mesalles and Felix Barajas already finding the back of the net. Walk-on Luke Thomas has looked promising too, and next Duke takes on Seattle at Koskinen Stadium Monday night. -Piazza
Field hockey
After splitting the opening weekend of the season with a win and a loss, Duke dropped both its contests from this past weekend. The 12th-ranked Blue Devils (1-3) hosted No. 4 Northwestern Friday and No. 9 Maryland Sunday, both of which shut them out and rode away with the win. They’ll have a week off before going to No. 13 Princeton for a matchup against the Tigers Saturday. -Piazza
Volleyball
Duke is off to a hot start in this 2021 campaign, winning its first six games and taking all three contests in Cameron Indoor Stadium this past Friday and Saturday. Freshman outside hitter Rachel Richardson emerged during Saturday’s game against the College of Charleston, and head coach Jolene Nagel has a blend of talent and experience that the team will likely be able to parlay into some quality wins. Next the Blue Devils (6-0) are off to Michigan for games against No. 23 Michigan and Michigan State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. -Piazza
Cross country
Both the Duke women and 23rd-ranked men took first place at the Elon Opener Friday, the program’s first meet under new head coach Angela Reckart. Sophomore Charlotte Tomkinson, senior Clara Savchik and graduate student Michaela Reinhart finished first-through-third for the women, while a formidable pack of 11 runners—led by junior Zach Kinne, graduate transfer Nick Dahl and junior Sam Rivera—finished second-through-12th for the men. Next, the Blue Devils will compete in the Adidas XC Challenge in Cary, N.C., Sept. 17, which will allow them to see how they stack up against ACC competition. -Evan Kolin
Editor’s note: Men’s golf is currently playing in the Turning Stone Tiger Intercollegiate offseason tournament in Verona, N.Y.
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Jake Piazza is a Trinity senior and was sports editor of The Chronicle's 117th volume.