Duke Cruises Past Tribe, 17-7, to Improve to 5-0

Sunday, February 22

Durham, N.C.

1:00 PM

Duke University

William & Mary

Duke Cruises Past Tribe, 17-7, to Improve to 5-0

2/22/2015 4:24:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. – Junior goalkeeper Kelsey Duryea and the Blue Devil defense held visiting William & Mary scoreless for over 44 minutes to guide eighth-ranked Duke to a 17-7 victory Sunday afternoon at the West Campus turf field. The Blue Devils improved to 5-0 with the win for the program's best start to a season since 2008.

Fueled by an unwavering defensive effort, the Duke attack featured 10 different goal scorers on the day. Seniors Chelsea Landon and Kerrin Maurer both collected hat tricks, with Maurer also dishing two assists for a game-high five points. Fellow senior Katie Trees, junior Emma Lazaroff and freshman Kyra Harney also registered multiple scores in the win.

Duryea bolstered the defense with nine saves in 50 minutes of action. The Beverly, Mass., native also matched a career-high with three caused turnovers and picked up three ground balls. She anchored a unit that shut out its opponent in the first half for the first time on the season.

“The defense has been awesome,” said head coach Kerstin Kimel. “I also think our depth in the midfield has helped us stay more fresh and we're able to have fresh legs constantly, which helps our ability to play the kind of defense that we want to play.”

The Blue Devils took advantage of the strong defensive performance to start the contest on a 14-0 scoring run. Landon tallied all three of her goals in the opening 30 minutes and seven other Duke players also found the back of the net to make it an 11-0 game at the intermission.

“We've had a couple games with nine or so different goal scorers, and I think that was huge for us,” Maurer said. “Moving forward, I think that makes it difficult for teams to stop us and not key in on one or two people.”

After Maurer scored twice and senior Erin Tenneson once to open the second period, William & Mary saw increased success at the draw. The Tribe manufactured a five-goal run with Emma MacLeod posting a hat trick in that span, which cut the margin to nine with just over nine minutes remaining. The visiting squad also called upon goalkeeper Alex Lista, who came on in the 12th minute and totaled 10 stops during the remainder of the contest.

The teams swapped two-goal bursts inside the final eight minutes before freshman Grace Fallon recorded the first score of her collegiate career to close out the non-conference matchup.

Senior Angel Thompson and freshman Oralee Hespenheide both saw time in the net for Duke late in the contest, with Hespenheide making her first career save. Freshman midfielder Maddie Crutchfield contributed two caused turnovers in addition to winning a season-best three draw controls and notching one goal and one assist. Sophomore defender Maura Schwitter picked up three ground balls to help the Blue Devils win the category, 22-17. Duke also outshot William & Mary, 34-22.

The Tribe held a 16-10 advantage at the draw behind eight draw controls from Ellen Shaffrey. Meaghan Brophy added two goals for the squad in the loss.

The Blue Devils will now have a full week to prepare for their ACC opener against Notre Dame Sunday, March 1. That game is set for a 1 p.m. start on ESPN3.

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