Brown Takes No. 3 Duke to Overtime, But Wenger Wins It for Blue Devils
from press release
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – PROVIDENCE, R.I. -
With less than two minutes to play in regulation, the No. 3 Duke
women's lacrosse team trailed Brown 11-10, but junior Kat Thomas
came up with the game-tying goal and classmate Kim Wenger provided
the heroics in overtime as the Blue Devils eked past Brown, 13-12,
Sunday afternoon at Stevenson Field. In a game that saw six ties,
Duke escaped with the victory, moving to 11-2 (3-1 ACC) as Brown
falls to 5-6 overall (1-3 Ivy).
Thomas finished the day with two goals, while Wenger contributed
two assists and three draw controls, including two in overtime, to
go along with her gamewinner. Emma Hamm and Sarah Bullard paced the
Duke offense with three goals each, Virginia Crotty chipped in with
two goals and Christie Kaestner added a goal and three assists.
Duke outshot Brown by a 32-24 margin and won 16 draws to 13 for the
Bears, but the Blue Devils were unable to put away a pesky Brown
squad, which overcame a three-goal deficit in the second half.
For the second consecutive game, the Blue Devils allowed their
opponent to jump out to a 2-0 lead and Duke still trailed 4-2 after
nearly 15 minutes of play before a 3-0 run put the Devils on top
5-4. Hamm ignited the run with a goal off a Kaestner pass and
Bullard capped it off with back-to-back goals, assisted by Kaestner
and Wenger, respectively.
However, Brown would not cave in and the Bears tied the game at 5-5
and again at 6-6 heading into halftime. Duke outshot the Bears 17-9
in the opening period, but could not capitalize on the
opportunities to extend its advantage.
Fifty-seven seconds in the second period, Crotty put Duke up a
goal, and Kaestner followed with a score of her own nine seconds
later. Hamm finished off the 3-0 run to start the half for the Blue
Devils as Duke appeared to be in control of the game with a 9-7
lead early in the second stanza.
After the two teams traded goals over the next six minutes, Brown
was once again able to battle back. The Bears put together a 4-0
run over the next 23:36, keeping Duke's potent offense in check for
most of the second half.
Brown regained the lead, 11-10, with 13:06 left to play off a Bre
Hudgins score and won the following draw. The Bears looked to
extend their lead, but a pair of Mollie Mackler saves kept Duke
within one. The Duke goaltender finished the day with seven saves,
including several key stops in the second half.
With under seven minutes to play, Brown turned the ball over in the
midfield, and Duke nearly tied the game minutes later, but Thomas'
shot ricocheted off the post. Yet again the Blue Devils were able
to force a Brown miscue, regaining possession and calling a timeout
with 2:50 to play. Two Devil shots failed to find the back of the
net before Thomas was isolated on the left and beat the Brown
goaltender to knot the score at 11-11 with just 1:19 remaining.
Wenger came up with the first draw control in overtime,
leading to a Hamm tally off a Kaestner assist to give Duke the
12-11 advantage. But with 2:01 left in the first overtime period,
Brown again tied the score on a Hudgins goal, and looked to go
ahead once again as Alexa Caldwell received a free position
opportunity with just 13 seconds left. Mackler was again up to the
challenge, denying the goal and keeping the Blue Devils alive.
At the start of the sudden victory overtime period, Brown won the
draw, but another Mackler save gave Duke possession. The Blue
Devils wasted no time putting the Bears away as Wenger rifled the
ball past the Brown goalie to end the game.
Sunday's contest concluded a four-game road stretch for the Blue
Devils, who return home Friday, April 15 to take on North Carolina
at 7 p.m. from Koskinen Stadium.
