Be-Deviled: No. 4 Duke Hands Princeton First Loss
from press release
DURHAM, N.C. – Featuring a balance
offensive attack that saw 10 players score goals, the fourth-ranked
Duke women’s lacrosse team built a substantial halftime lead
en route to a 19-12 victory over No. 18 Princeton Saturday
afternoon at Koskinen Stadium.
Duke moves to 4-1 overall after handing Princeton its first loss
of the 2011 season. The Tigers fall to 2-1 on the year with the
loss.
Leading the way for the Blue Devils was redshirt junior Emma Hamm
with three goals and two assists as the Wayne, Pa., native also
added four ground balls, four draw controls and two caused
turnovers. Seniors Christie Kaestner and Virginia Crotty also
tallied three goals each, while junior Amanda Jones and sophomores
Jackie Klauberg and Makenzie Hommel chipped in with two goals
apiece.
“I’m happy with the outcome,” head coach Kerstin
Kimel said. “This was a week where could focus on us getting
better, and a lot of the things we worked on in practice came into
play today. We had to make some adjustments on the fly during
today’s game, but I’m pleased with how we
responded.”
Duke would never trail in the contest and the Blue Devils’
balanced offense was evident from the opening draw as six different
Duke players scored in the opening 11 minutes to give the Devils an
early 6-2 lead. Redshirt freshman Maddie Salamone notched an
unassisted goal with 18 minutes remaining in the first half to
spark a 6-0 Duke run to close out the period, culminating in a
Jones score at the 5:03 mark.
The Blue Devils dictated the tempo in the first half, leading
Princeton in shots (25-14), draw controls (10-6) and ground balls
(10-9) as Duke entered the intermission with a comfortable 12-3
margin.
Despite the deficit, Princeton refused to quit and used a 14-2
advantage in draw controls during the second half to outscore the
Blue Devils 9-7 in the final stanza. The Tigers scored two quick
goals early in the half, but Duke was able to match the visiting
team’s effort with goals from Crotty and Kaestner. The two
squads traded goals the rest of the way until Duke pulled ahead
19-9 with 3:51 remaining. Three unanswered Tiger tallies over the
last 2:39 of play brought the final score to 19-12 in favor of the
Blue Devils.
“I’m disappointed we didn’t do a better job on
the draw in the second half,” Kimel added. “That is
something we’ll have to work on moving forward. I thought
Princeton was more aggressive in the second half, and I
would’ve like to done a better job of containing them at the
end of the game. But overall, we had 10 people score and five kids
assist, so there were a lot of good things to take away from this
game. We’re looking forward to spring break, to working on us
and to getting better.”
For the game, Princeton was led by Lizzy Drumm with six goals and
Charlotte Davis with three. Duke outshot the Tigers 38-31 overall,
but Princeton was able to win the draw, 20-12.
Junior Mollie Mackler started in cage for the Blue Devils and made
10 saves in the win.
Duke will remain at home for a bout with Vanderbilt Wednesday,
March 9 at Koskinen Stadium. Opening draw is slated for 6 p.m.
