Duke Tripped Up by Second-Ranked Tar Heels, 12-6

Friday, April 17

Durham, N.C.

7:00 PM

Duke University

North Carolina

Duke Tripped Up by Second-Ranked Tar Heels, 12-6

4/17/2015 10:07:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. – Third-ranked Duke was held to a season-low scoring output in a 12-6 loss to second-ranked North Carolina Friday evening in the teams' ACC regular season finale at Koskinen Stadium. The Blue Devils suffered just their second loss of the spring, falling to 13-2 overall and 5-2 in conference play entering next week's ACC Tournament.

The Tar Heels (13-2, 6-2 ACC) claimed the ACC regular season title and secured the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament with the win, while Duke will head to Charlottesville, Va., as the No. 2 seed.

Senior Kerrin Maurer paced the Blue Devil attack with two tallies on the evening and classmate Katie Trees also had two points on one goal and one assist. Aly Messinger and Sammy Jo Tracy each posted a hat trick to headline North Carolina's offense.

After Maurer put Duke on the board first just over five minutes in, the Tar Heels took off on a scoring burst for a 5-1 lead midway through the half. Kelly Devlin found the back of the net twice for North Carolina in that span while Tracy and Marie McCool also registered markers.

“We put ourselves in a tough position because we got down early,” said head coach Kerstin Kimel. “And then we weren't winning the draw. So there was a huge stretch in the first half where we didn't even have the ball to generate offense. For us, that's tough because we're used to winning the draw … We were too hesitant defensively. UNC is a great team and they made us pay for it.”

Junior Maddy Acton ended what was nearly a 12-minute scoring drought for the Blue Devils and Trees followed suit by converting from the eight-meter mark. A pair of freshmen then made it a one-goal game when Maddie Crutchfield passed ahead to Kyra Harney after a Trees win at the draw. However, the Tar Heels broke through for two more of their own before the half to take a 7-4 lead into the locker room at the intermission.

North Carolina came out firing in the second period, as Sydney Holman netted a pass from teammate Sam McGee with only 35 seconds off the clock. Trees fought through the Tar Heel defense and found Trimble for a score that pulled Duke back within three, but the team struggled to capitalize on offensive opportunities over the next several possessions.

Tracy, Messinger and Maggie Bill strung together three straight goals for North Carolina to give the visiting squad its largest lead at 11-5. Maurer countered with an unassisted tally at the 10:11 mark before being sent off a short while later with her second yellow card of the contest.

Turnovers plagued both sides in the waning minutes, but the Tar Heels were able to tack on an additional goal with Bill feeding Messinger inside the final minute and a half in regulation.

For the contest, visiting North Carolina led the way in shots on goal, 19-12. Draw controls were even at 10-all, as were ground balls at 13-all. Turnovers were nearly even with Duke committing 13 to 12 by the Tar Heels.

Blue Devil goalkeeper Kelsey Duryea finished with seven saves and recorded two ground balls and a caused turnover. Caylee Waters and Megan Ward split time in the net for North Carolina, with each posting three saves.

“I'm proud of this group,” Kimel said. “We're really well-led by seniors. We've stayed very focused and on-task, and we've been able to adapt over the course of the season. Tonight was just not a great performance for us. I think that obviously has something to do with our opponent – they played a great game ... I have a lot of faith that we'll take a good, hard look at ourselves and we'll be able to rebound in the ACC Tournament.”

Duke will await the release of the 2015 ACC Tournament bracket to learn its opponent for the first round Thursday, April 23 in Charlottesville. The No. 2 seed is slated to begin play at 4 p.m. that day.

--- NOTES ---

- With her seven stops, junior goalkeeper Kelsey Duryea surpassed the 100-save mark on the season for the third time in as many years at Duke.

- Duke's six goals marked the program's lowest scoring output since suffering a 7-5 loss to Virginia in the quarterfinals of last year's ACC Tournament (April 24, 2014).

#GoDuke