Hat Tricks Power No. 23 Duke to 16-7 Win over California

Saturday, February 28

Durham, N.C.

3 PM

Duke University

4-2, 1-1

California

3-3, 1-1

California

Duke

Photo by: Nat LeDonne / Duke Athletics

Hat Tricks Power No. 23 Duke to 16-7 Win over California

2/28/2026 7:40:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

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DURHAM, N.C. - Redshirt junior Ava Biancardi and sophomores Avery Doran and Sadie Stafford each posted hat tricks as No. 23 Duke (4-2, 1-1 ACC) women's lacrosse powered to a 16-7 victory over California (3-3, 1-1) Saturday afternoon at Freeman Field at Koskinen Stadium.

Sophomore Maddie MacDonald notched two scores while five other Blue Devils – freshman Caroline Doyle, juniors Bella Goodwin and Reese Woodworth, graduate student McKenzie Olsen and redshirt junior Eva Pronti – found the back of the cage once. Goodwin paced the assist efforts with two helpers, with Doran, Pronti and junior Caitlin Barrett adding one assist each.

Junior Ellie White had a solid day at the draw circle and tallied eight of Duke's 15 draw controls. On the defensive side, senior Madison Beale and sophomore Amanda Paci produced two caused turnovers apiece, while Barrett and Biancardi each scooped up two ground balls. In goal, redshirt freshman Hope Schoudel played all but three minutes and recorded six saves.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Duke got off to a fast start Saturday afternoon, with Stafford opening the scoring off a feed from Barrett just 46 seconds into the game.
Doran found the back of the cage at the 11:52 mark for a 2-0 Blue Devil lead, then Pronti connected with Biancardi to push the margin to three with just over 10 minutes to play in the first.
MacDonald got a nice feed from Doran and added a tally shortly after as Duke pushed its margin to 4-0.
California broke through just past the midway point of the opening stanza, but the Blue Devils responded with back-to-back Stafford goals to take a 6-1 advantage into the second.
The Golden Bears got the offense going a little in the second quarter, book ending the frame with goals. Duke turned in three tallies of its own during the stanza – two from Biancardi and one from Doran – to take a 9-3 lead into the half.
Pronti and Woodworth scores to start the second half pushed the Duke margin to eight, 11-3, with less than nine minutes remaining in the third. Cal wouldn't go quietly, though, and used a three-goal spurt to cut the gap to five with a little under four minutes to play in the third.
Goodwin found the back of the cage at the 2:20 mark to briefly halt the momentum, but the Golden Bears scored with 33 seconds remaining to pull within 12-7 heading into the fourth.
Duke registered two caused turnovers and a save in the final period while adding four goals on the offensive end to keep California at bay. Doran completed her hat trick with a score at the 12:54 mark, with Olsen and Macdonald notching free position goals. Doyle's first career tally put the finishing touches on the game as Duke locked down the 16-7 victory.

NOTES:

Duke improves to 4-2 on the year and 1-1 in ACC play. California drops to 3-3 overall and 1-1 in league play.
Head coach Kirsten Kimel earns her 368th career victory and 364th with the Blue Devils.
Duke improves to 3-0 all-time against California, including a 2-0 record in Durham.
For the second consecutive game, Duke had three players post hat tricks. Doran turned in her second straight game with at least three scores and her fourth of the season overall. Biancardi and Stafford earned their second hat trick of the year.
Barrett matched a career high with two ground balls.
Doyle tallied her first-career goal as a Blue Devil

UP NEXT:
Duke continues ACC action with a midweek game, hosting No. 11 Boston College Wednesday at 5 p.m. from Freeman Field at Koskinen Stadium.

For more information on Duke women's lacrosse, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "DukeWLAX."

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