Duke Whips St. Mary's in ACC Tourney Tune-Up
from press release
DURHAM, N.C. – Fourteen Blue Devils
scored goals and 16 recorded a point as No. 3 Duke routed Saint
Mary’s 23-2 Sunday afternoon at Koskinen Stadium. The Blue
Devils are now 13-2 (4-1 ACC) heading in to the conference
championship next week as the Gaels drop to 2-11 (1-5 MPSF) on the
year.
Duke’s 23 goals scored is the Blue Devils’ highest
scoring output since tallying 23 against Brown on May 9, 2010,
while Saint Mary’s two goals is the lowest total by a Duke
opponent since the Blue Devils defeated Canisius, 20-1, on March
20, 2009.
“I was pleased that we were able to come out on a Sunday
after playing Friday night and give such a commanding
performance,” head coach Kerstin Kimel said. “It was a
terrific way to honor an outstanding senior class. Moving forward,
we’re excited to spend this week preparing to do our best in
the ACC Tournament.”
Sophomore Makenzie Hommel led Duke with four goals as the Blue
Devils would outshoot the Gaels 43-12 on the afternoon. Junior
Amanda Jones, senior Sarah Bullard, redshirt freshman Maddie
Salamone, sophomore Monica DeMairo and freshman Molly Quirke scored
two goals each for Duke. In addition, two Blue Devils –
freshmen Tara Stokes and Sydney Peterson – recorded their
first collegiate points as Peterson had a goal and an assist and
Stokes dished out an assist.
The Blue Devils registered four goals in the first 10 minutes and
built a 10-0 lead by the halfway point in the opening period. Duke
would take a 15-0 lead into the intermission, and the Blue Devils
would score the first 18 goals of the game before Saint
Mary’s found the back on the net with just over five minutes
gone in the second half. Duke put together a 5-0 streak before the
Gaels scored the final goal of the game with 2:20 left to play.
Sunday’s game also marked Senior Day for the Blue Devils as
Duke honored graduating seniors Sarah Bullard, Virginia Crotty,
Miller Hughes, Christie Kaestner and Carolina Spearman in a
post-game ceremony.
“This group of seniors has been exceptional, both on and off
the field,” Kimel added. “They are great students and
outstanding leaders, and they have been a huge part of the recent
success our program has enjoyed. We’ll be sad to see them go,
but our season is nowhere near ready to be over.”
Next up, Duke heads to the ACC Championship, which will take place
April 21, 22 and 24 at the WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. The
Blue Devils, the second seed in the tournament, earned a bye and
will face the winner of the quarterfinal bout between third-seed
North Carolina and sixth-seed Virginia Tech on Friday, April 22 at
7:30 p.m. Duke will close out the regular season, Friday, April 29,
traveling to Philadelphia to challenge Penn at 7 p.m.
