Hamm Keys Duke Comeback to Beat Vandy
from press release
DURHAM, N.C. – Facing an early three-goal
deficit and unfavorable playing conditions, the No. 3 Duke
women’s lacrosse team utilized an 8-1 run midway through the
second half to capture a 14-12 win over No. 13 Vanderbilt Wednesday
evening from a rain-soaked Koskinen Stadium.
The two teams were evenly match in both shots and ground balls as
Duke (5-1) led 26-25 and 22-19, respectively. Vanderbilt (4-3)
controlled the tempo in the opening period, winning seven draw
controls to three for the Blue Devils, but Duke dominated the draw
in the second frame by a margin of 13-5.
“I’m really proud of our team,” head coach
Kerstin Kimel said. “The conditions were really, really
challenging and our kids played like warriors tonight. We had a
couple specific things coming into this game that we wanted to work
on, in particular the draw, which we were able to dominate in the
second half. I was really pleased, given the field conditions, that
we were able to pull out a really hard fought win
tonight.”
Redshirt junior Emma Hamm was key to the Blue Devils’ offense
with all four of her goals coming during Duke’s 8-1 run as
the Wayne, Pa., native also chipped in an assist and seven draw
controls. Freshman Molly Quirke, who also contributed four caused
turnovers and three ground balls, kept Duke in the game early on,
registering three first-half goals including the first of her
collegiate career at the 21:18 mark. Sophomore Makenzie Hommel also
notched three scores, while senior Christie Kaestner added a goal
and two assists.
Vanderbilt won the first three draws of the evening and looked to
slow down the pace of play in the early going. The
Commodores’ game plan proved effective as Vanderbilt jumped
out to a 3-0 lead after consecutive free position goals from Emily
Franke.
Even though a steady rain began to fall, Duke’s offense was
able to adjust as Quirke provided a spark with three straight goals
to even the score at 3-3 with 8:10 left in the first half.
A goal from Kaestner at the 4:04 mark would tie the game at
four-all, but Vanderbilt’s Meghan Rose gave the Commodores
the one-goal edge heading into the intermission with an unassisted
score two minutes later. The Blue Devils, despite outshooting
Vanderbilt 12-10 in the opening frame, trailed 5-4 heading into
halftime, and would find themselves down 6-4 early in the second
period.
Two minutes into the second half, back-to-back goals from Hommel
and junior Kat Thomas tied the game at six-all before Hamm took
over, scoring the next four Duke goals to give the Blue Devils a
lead they would not relinquish. Thomas and Hommel capped off the
Devils’ 8-1 run with another pair of back-to-back goals in
just under a minute to give Duke a 12-7 cushion heading into the
final 18 minutes of play.
“Our offense was so poised in the second half,” Kimel
added. “We came out of the half down one and it would be very
easy for an offense to be tentative or worried, and I felt like the
tempo with which we played in the second half helped us produce
goals and good looks. We changed what we were running on offense
and that really helped, too. We got a nice dodge goal from Kat
[Thomas] and we had some really good looks with Emma [Hamm]. I
thought we just did a really nice job of adjusting and playing our
game in the second half.”
Vanderbilt’s Ally Carey, who led the Commodores with four
goals, picked up two unassisted goals to cut the Duke lead to three
with 12 minutes to play. The Commodores would pull within two as
the clock ticked under six minutes, but the Devils’ defense
did not let Vanderbilt come any closer the rest of the way.
Junior goalie Mollie Mackler registered her second straight game
with 10 saves to preserve the win, making several key stops down
the stretch to protect the Duke lead.
The Blue Devils face their four consecutive ranked opponent this
weekend, traveling to Washington D.C., to face No. 9 Georgetown.
The game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start.
