No. 2 Duke stifles Tiger offense to secure victory

Six minutes into the second half against the Tigers on Sunday, the Duke women's lacrosse team started to put on a show in Princeton Stadium.

In battling through the first half to a 7-6 lead over Princeton (1-2-0), the No. 2 Blue Devils (6-0-0) didn't show the Tigers anything they couldn't handle. Though Duke was able to get up early on a goal from Kristen Waagbo, the Tigers were able to bounce back just three minutes later with a goal of their own from sophomore attack Katie Atkins. The Blue Devils then opened up a small lead with two goals in the next three minutes.

Once again, Princeton kept it close, answering with two goals of its own. Junior attack Kathleen Miller scored on a free position shot with 19 minutes, 31 seconds remaining in the half and sophomore midfielder Katie Lewis-Lamonica tied the game again on an assist from Atkins with 18:18 left.

The teams then traded goals for the remainder of the half, with Duke enjoying no more than a one-goal advantage. Freshman attack Kristin Schwab scored Princeton's final goal of the half to tie the game at six apiece with 3:59 remaining. That looked like it would be the score heading into the locker room, but Waagbo was able to sneak her third goal of the game past Tiger goaltender Meg Murray with just 19 seconds remaining to send her team into the intermission with a 7-6 lead.

Coming out of the locker room for the second half, the rain which had drenched Princeton Stadium in the morning — causing a 20-minute delay — began to subside. It seemed as if that was all the Duke offense needed to put on a powerful display.

Fittingly, the Duke run started with a goal from its star attack, Katie Chrest, 6:47 into the half off an assist from Waagbo. Chrest then added a second score just thirteen seconds later. With 20:38 remaining, Rachel Sanford gave the Blue Devils a 10-6 lead. Immediately thereafter, teammate Caroline Cryer got her first goal of the day to extend the lead to five. Just over a minute later, Carolyn Davis notched one of her four goals of the day to give her a team a six-goal advantage.

All told, Duke's five-goal run took just 4:44. Extending to the previous half, the Blue Devils had put up six unanswered goals after playing a near even game for 30 minutes.

"[Their run] really motivated us and we realized that we're not just going to let them do that to us," Atkins said. "It kind of just shocked us and made us realize that we really needed to step up our game."

And the Tigers did. Lewis-Lamonica cut into Duke's six-goal advantage, scoring from a free position shot with 16:04 remaining. Just over a minute later, freshman attack Katie Cox brought the Tigers to within four with her second goal of the game.

Though it seemed like Princeton was turning the tide, Duke's defense grew increasingly dominant as the game wore on. In a nine-minute span, the Blue Devils caused five turnovers, effectively shutting down any attacks the Tigers attempted to mount. With time beginning to play a factor as the clock ticked past the six-minute mark and Princeton still down by four, Duke's Davis put what appeared to be the final nail in the coffin with her fourth goal of the game at 5:52 remaining.

But as had been the story all game long, Princeton quickly responded. Schwab got her second of the game on a free position shot with 4:22 left, cutting the lead back to four. Freshman midfielder Holly McGarvie then found the net 1:30 later. McGarvie added a second goal shortly after, cutting the lead to two with 28 seconds left. But the Blue Devils took control on the ensuing possession and were able to run out the clock, weathering Princeton's comeback for a 13-11 win.

"I think we just fell out of our game for ten minutes and came right back," Atkins said of the team's second half lapse. "Had that not happened I think the game would have turned out differently."

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In the end, it was actually the Duke defense, rather than its much heralded offense, that carried the victory for the Blue Devils. Goaltender Meghan Huether made some integral stops, including two big ones against free position shots.

"She's a really strong presense in the cage," Atkins said. "In the first half we ended up shooting high on her and she caught on to that."

A telling sign as to just how good the Duke defense was their ability to repeatedly establish a clear dominance of possession despite the fact that the Tigers won 17 of 26 draw controls.