DURHAM, N.C. – A fast start from the No. 5 team in the nation put Penn on its heels, and the Quakers could never recover in a 17-7 loss at Duke.
 
The game was originally slated to happen at Koskinen Stadium, but torrential rain in North Carolina left that field unplayable so the game was moved to Duke's nearby turf practice field and eventually was delayed by almost 30 minutes.
 
When the game finally began, the Blue Devils scored the game's first three goals, and built an 8-2 lead after 15:00 to stymie Penn's chances of pulling off a second consecutive win over a highly-ranked Duke club. Eventually, the Blue Devils held Penn scoreless over a span of 22:03 in the middle stretch of the game, halting any thought off a Penn rally.
 
Notes to Know…

• Simon Mathias had two goals, extending his point-scoring streak to 45 (every game of his career) and his goal-scoring streak to 22. He now ranks No. 7 all-time at Penn with 87 career goals and his 141 points are tied for No. 10 all-time by a Quaker.
• Adam Goldner scored twice, giving him five goals over Penn's first two games.
• Midfielder Tyler Dunn had a goal and an assist.
• Goalkeeper Reed Junkin recorded 11 saves, including seven in the first half.
• Duke doubled up the Quakers in terms of shots on goal, placing 28 on target to Penn's 14.

 
How It Happened…
The Blue Devils came out of the gates firing, connecting on three consecutive goals to build a 3-0 lead just 2:34 in. Jake Seau had two of those goals for Duke.
 
Adam Goldner got Penn on the board with his first of two in the opening half. He slipped behind Duke's pressure and Tyler Dunn fed him a pass which Dunn then deposited top corner 6:50 into the game. Goldner's second goal of the half would come on the extra-man, finishing a Sam Handley pass.
 
Goldner's first goal was unable to build any momentum for the Quakers as Duke rattled off the next three, scoring three times in a span of 0:43 to take a 6-1 lead with 6:06 remaining in the first quarter.
 
Joe Licciardi scored for Penn with 5:29 left in the opening period, finishing a Mitch Bartolo pass with a low bouncer to cut Penn's deficit to 6-2. That goal was answered by four in a row by the Blue Devils – two before the close of the first quarter and two in the opening 3:43 of the second period. After Goldner's EMO goal midway through the second period, Duke's Sean Lawrie would net the final two goals of the opening 30:00 to send Penn into halftime trailing, 12-3.
 
Penn would eventually fall behind 14-3, going 22:03 without a goal before Simon Mathias scored with under a minute remaining in the third quarter. Duke would then score the first two goals of the fourth quarter, Joe Robertson connecting on his fourth of the game while Brad Smith netted his hat trick.
 
Dylan Gergar would net his first career goal, faking high before going low with 1:38 remaining. Mathias would follow with his second of the game on a nice diving shot inside the far post with 0:10 left to render the final score.
 
The Red and Blue continue their road swing at No. 2 Penn State on March 2 at 1 p.m.