Blue Devil Offense Explodes for 17-6 Win Over No. 11 Boston College

Wednesday, March 4

Durham, N.C.

5 PM

Duke University

5-2, 2-1

Boston College

2-4, 2-2

Boston College

Duke

Photo by: Nat LeDonne / Duke Athletics

Blue Devil Offense Explodes for 17-6 Win Over No. 11 Boston College

3/4/2026 9:21:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

DURHAM, N.C. – The Duke women's lacrosse team pushed its win streak to four games and picked up its first ranked win of the season, as the 22nd-ranked Blue Devils raced past No. 11 Boston College, 17-6, Wednesday evening at Freeman Field at Koskinen Stadium.

Duke's offense saw seven different players find the back of the net, led by sophomore Avery Doran's five goals. Redshirt juniors Ava Biancardi and Eva Pronti and freshman Quinn Whitaker combined for nine points on the night with each notching hat tricks. Juniors Caitlin Barrett and Bella Goodwin and rookie Caroline Doyle rounded out the scorers with one goal apiece. Nine of the Blue Devils' goals were assisted with Pronti leading the distribution efforts with four dimes.

Not to be outdone, the Duke defense also shined against the Eagles with 14 ground balls and 10 caused turnovers. Sophomores Mabel Overbeck and Amanda Paci led the defensive efforts, with Overbeck scooping up a career-best four ground balls while Paci added two ground balls and four caused turnovers.

Senior Sydney Smith matched a collegiate best with three caused turnovers, while redshirt freshman goalkeeper Hope Schoudel tied a career-high seven saves. Junior Ellie White had another strong outing at the draw circle with 14 draw controls – her fifth game this season in double figures.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Doran got Duke on the board first with a score at the 13:44 mark, then Barrett added a goal less than a minute later – off sophomore Sadie Stafford's feed – for a 2-0 Blue Devil lead.
Boston College halted the momentum briefly with Guilia Colarusso's tally at the 8:42 mark, but the Blue Devils responded with four unanswered to stretch the lead to five.
Pronti connected with Whitaker for a man-up goal at the 7:42 mark to ignite the spurt, before Goodwin slotted one home 35 seconds later to give the home team a 4-1 edge. Doran added a tally shortly after, and Pronti converted a free-position shot with just over three minutes remaining to give Duke a 6-1 lead.
The Eagles opened the second-period scoring four minutes into the stanza via a free position goal by Marissa White.
Duke responded with three straight markers to take a 9-2 advantage into the half. The Blue Devils added back-to-back man-up goals – one from Biancardi and one by Whitaker, before Pronti found Biancardi for the score to give Duke a seven point lead.
The Blue Devils were full throttle coming out of the locker room, stretching their lead to 10 less than three minutes into the second half.
Stafford connected with Biancardi less than 40 seconds into the third, before Goodwin dished one off to Pronti for a goal at the 12:43 mark. Doran completed the hat trick just 33 seconds later to give Duke a 12-2 advantage.
Boston College managed to halt the running clock with a tally at the 9:42 mark, but only momentarily, as consecutive Blue Devil goals pushed the home team's advantage back to double digits.
Doyle notched a goal for the second straight game – this one coming on Pronti's feed – and Whitaker added one with six minutes to play in the quarter to give Duke an 11-point cushion – its largest of the game. The teams traded goals in the last three minutes of the third, with the Blue Devils taking a 15-4 lead into the fourth.
The Eagles found the back of the cage twice in the final period but the Blue Devils tallied two scores of their own. Barrett connected with Pronti for a man-up goal and Doran slotted one home off Goodwin's dime to put the final touches on the win.

NOTES:

Duke improves to 5-2 overall and 2-1 in ACC play. Boston College drops to 2-4 and 2-2 in conference action.
The Blue Devils earned their first win over a ranked opponent this season.
The Blue Devils improve to 16-10 all-time against Boston College and snap a five-game skid to the Eagles.
The 11-point margin of victory is the largest over the Eagles since 2006, when Duke posted a 19-5 triumph. The six goals scored are tied for the second-fewest by the Eagles in the all-time series.
Duke held Boston College to its lowest scoring output of the season – six below the team's scoring average entering the game (12.00).
With her 14 draw controls against the Boston College, Ellie White moved up to No. 6 all-time on the Duke career charts. She owns 179 as a Blue Devil and needs just six more to move into the top five.
White's 79 draw controls this season have already exceeded her total from a season ago (76) and puts her just three away from moving up to 12th all-time on the Duke single-season charts.
Eva Pronti posted a season-high seven points on three goals – her first-career hat trick – and four assists. It marks her fifth game this year with at least three points and her third outing with five or more.
Avery Doran had her fourth straight hat trick and matched her career high with five goals against the Eagles. Doran has scored at least three goals in five of seven games this season.
Ava Biancardi posted her second straight hat trick and third game this season with three or more scores. She has totaled three or more points in all but one game.
Bella Goodwin logged her seventh consecutive multi-point effort with a goal and two assists against Boston College.
Netminder Hope Schoudel matched her career high with seven saves.
Mabel Overbeck collected a career-best four ground balls.
Caitlin Barrett produced her second multi-point outing of the year, totaling a goal and an assist against the Eagles.
Sydney White tied her collegiate best with three caused turnovers.
Caroline Doyle notched a goal for the second straight game and now has two in four games played this season.

UP NEXT:
Duke continues ACC action with a trip to the West Coast for a matchup against No. 2 Stanford on March 8. Opening draw is set for 4 p.m. ET, at Maloney Field at Laird Q. Cagan 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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