Blue Devils Drop Heartbreaker as No. 2 Stanford Rallies for 11-10 Victory

Sunday, March 8

Stanford, CA

4 PM

Duke University

5-4, 2-3

Stanford

9-0, 6-0

Duke

Stanford

Photo by: Nat LeDonne / Duke Athletics

Blue Devils Drop Heartbreaker as No. 2 Stanford Rallies for 11-10 Victory

3/8/2026 6:32:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

STANFORD, Calif. – No. 22 Duke gave second-ranked Stanford all it could handle, but an Annabel Frist goal with less than two minutes remaining lifted the Cardinal to an 11-10 victory over the Blue Devils in ACC women's lacrosse action Sunday afternoon.

Redshirt junior Ava Biancardi matched a career high with five goals to pace the Blue Devil offense, while freshman Quinn Whitaker notched her fifth career hat trick. Redshirt junior Eva Pronti added two goals to round out the Duke scorers and sophomore Avery Doran led the distribution efforts with three assists.

Biancardi helped lead the defensive effort with a career-best four ground balls and also tied a career high with two caused turnovers. In the cage, redshirt freshman Hope Schoudel recorded a collegiate-best 12 saves.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Duke opened the game's scoring just over two minutes in, as Whitaker delivered a strike off junior Bella Goodwin's feed at the 12:55 mark.
Pronti doubled the lead with her 11th goal of the season, scooping up a ground ball off sophomore Maddie MacDonald's caused turnover before slotting it past the Stanford goalkeeper.
The Blue Devils added a goal with 1:30 to play in the opening period as Pronti found a cutting Biancardi for a 3-0 lead.
Biancardi made it 4-0, Duke, just 12 seconds into the second period, ripping a shot past the Cardinal goalie on an assist from junior Caitlin Barrett.
Stanford found its offensive footing in the second quarter, scoring three goals in 90 seconds to slice the Duke advantage to one at the 11:53 mark.
Biancardi snapped the Blue Devils' scoring drought with her third goal with 3:07 to play in the opening half. The redshirt junior rocketed a shot into the top-left corner to complete her hat trick and push the Duke advantage back to two, 5-3.
The teams traded goals to end the first half, with the Blue Devils taking a 6-4 advantage into the half. Stanford converted on a free position attempt (1:50) before Duke answered with another Pronti goal – this one assisted by sophomore Avery Doran – with 1:36 remaining.
Back-to-back strikes by Whitaker to open the third quarter pushed the Duke margin back to four, 8-4. The rookie from Wayne, Pennsylvania, scored a man-up goal just 50 seconds into the second half, before adding another 40 seconds later on Doran's feed.
Stanford issued a quick response with two scores at 12:38 and 10:44 to slice the deficit back to two.
Pronti and Biancardi connected for the second time of the afternoon, with the latter being her fourth goal of the contest at 7:26 to push the Duke lead back to three, 9-6.
Stanford continued to fight, getting goals at 5:59 and 4:10 to pull within one.
Both teams had scoring chances to close the period but were unable to capitalize as Duke took a 9-8 edge into the final period.
After Stanford leveled the score, 9-9, less than two minutes into the fourth, Biancardi's fifth marker of the game regained a 10-9 advantage for the Blue Devils with just over 12 minutes remaining.
Stanford drew even once again at the 4:24 mark as Jordyn Case's tally knotted the game at 10-10. The Cardinal would take their first lead of the game with just under two minutes left in regulation, as Annabel Frist was able to slip one past Schoudel for the 11-10 lead.

NOTES:

Duke sees its four-game win streak come to an end and falls to 5-3 overall and 2-2 in ACC play. Stanford improves to 8-0 and 5-0 in conference action.
Despite the loss, the Blue Devils still maintain an 8-2 lead in the all-time series.
The 10 goals scored by the Blue Devils are the most allowed by Stanford this season.
Schoudel recorded a career-high 12 saves against Stanford. The 12 saves are the most by a Duke netminder since Kennedy Everson's 12 stops against Notre Dame (Feb. 28) in 2025.
Biancardi matched a career high with five goals, notching her sixth multi-goal game and fourth hat trick (third consecutive) of the season to push her 2026 total to 21 goals. It is also her second time this season netting five markers.
Biancardi also scooped up a career-best four ground balls and matched her collegiate best with two caused turnovers.
Whitaker tallied her fifth-career hat trick and third in the past four games. The freshman has scored multiple goals six times and now owns 19 this season.
Pronti logged her fourth multi-goal effort on the year. The redshirt junior finished the game with two scores, giving her 12 this season.

UP NEXT:
No. 22 Duke returns to action Saturday, Mar. 14, hosting Louisville in an ACC matinee. Opening draw is set for noon ET, with the game streaming live on ACCNX.

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

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