Women's Lacrosse Drops No. 5 Northwestern, 15-9

Thursday, February 19

Northbrook, Ill.

4:00 PM

Duke University

Northwestern

Women's Lacrosse Drops No. 5 Northwestern, 15-9

2/19/2015 6:54:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

By: Duke Sports Information

NORTHBROOK, Ill. – The eighth-ranked Blue Devils dominated the draw and displayed stifling defense in the second half to topple No. 5 Northwestern, 15-9, Thursday in a non-conference contest played indoors at the Accelerated Center. Duke defeated the Wildcats (2-1) for the first time since 2006 to improve to 4-0 on the season.

Senior Katie Trees recorded a career-high four goals and classmate Kerrin Maurer added three to pace the attack in the win. The duo also headlined a strong effort on the draw, with Maurer corralling six from inside the circle and Trees four from the wing. In total, seven different players registered a draw control as the Blue Devils won the category, 17-9.

Junior goalkeeper Kelsey Duryea tallied nine saves in the net to match her performance in Sunday's win over Navy. The ACC Defensive Player of the Week anchored a defensive unit that surrendered just two scores to Northwestern in the second half.

“We have some depth this year and I think it shows,” said head coach Kerstin Kimel. “What was great today, and it shows in our scoring, is that we have a lot of kids that can play and we have a lot of kids who are dangerous on the field. I'm really happy that was something we could take advantage of today.”

After the teams combined for 29 shots and 16 goals in the opening half, neither side scored for nearly eight minutes to open the second period until the Wildcats' Selena Lasota notched her fifth marker to bring the home squad back within one at 9-8. Duke was able to capitalize on a drawn charge by senior defender Gabby Moise, with freshman Kyra Harney finishing at the offensive end. Trees then fired two straight scores, including one from the eight-meter, to give the Blue Devils their largest lead at 12-8.

“We made some adjustments defensively coming out of halftime, and I thought our kids handled them well,” Kimel said. “Northwestern has got a couple kids who are big and powerful, and we were having a hard time containing them when we played extended so we decided to put a little less pressure on them. I think that benefitted us. I think it also gave Kelsey [Duryea] a little more time to see the ball.”

Duryea made two stops in the net on the following Northwestern possession and sophomore Maura Schwitter scooped up a crucial ground ball, setting up Maurer's second goal. Senior Erin Tenneson extended the run to 5-0 before Kaleigh Craig of the Wildcats took advantage of a free position opportunity to cut it to 14-9 with 3:44 remaining.

Duryea tacked on a couple more saves in the waning minutes and Maurer finished on a feed from fellow senior Taylor Trimble to round out the victory, Duke's first over the Wildcats in the last 12 meetings.

A fast-paced first half saw Northwestern open the contest with a pair of scores by Craig, who completed a hat trick eight minutes in. However, the Blue Devils rattled off four unanswered in that time, with Trees and senior Brigid Smith recording one each and junior Maddy Acton finding the back of the net twice.

Goals by freshman Maddie Crutchfield and Trimble widened Duke's lead to 6-3 midway through the period. The scoring then went back-and-forth, with Trees and Maurer doing much of the damage for the Blue Devil attack and Lasota leading the way for the Wildcats. Her third tally narrowed the deficit to 9-7 at the intermission.

Duke outshot Northwestern 28-24 for the game and went 10-of-12 on clearing attempts. Harney recorded multiple goals for the second consecutive contest while Smith and Trimble accounted for two assists each.

Seven of Duryea's nine saves on the day came in the second half. Harney, Crutchfield and Moise each logged a caused turnover and Crutchfield joined Trees and Schwitter in picking up multiple ground balls.

Lasota finished with five scores and Craig four while Bridget Bianco totaled eight saves for the Wildcats.

The Blue Devils will play their third game in seven days Sunday, Feb. 22, hosting William & Mary at 1 p.m.

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