No amount of thunder or lightning was about to stop the Blue Devils in their first-round blowout over Holy Cross Sunday.
In a weather-delayed match against the Crusaders, top-seeded Duke took advantage of two first-half scoring runs to post the largest margin of victory for an NCAA Championship game in the program's history. With the 18-2 win, the Blue Devils (17-2) advance into the quarterfinals where they will face James Madison at Koskinen Stadium, Saturday at 1 p.m.
Duke opened up a 5-0 scoring run before lightning struck with 21:53 to go in the first half and it never looked back. Katie Chrest and Kristen Waagbo netted the first two goals.
"We got one real fast," Chrest said. "Waagbo got one, and when we get back-to-back goals like that, momentum builds."
After the 30 minute delay, the intensity did not let up. A Waagbo assist to Chrest started the Blue Devils' second run. The assist was Waagbo's 31st on the season, breaking Duke's single-season record.
Leigh Jester's third and fourth goals of the game, along with back-to-back goals by sophomore midfielder Rachel Sanford, sparked the 6-0 run after the delay to put Duke up 11-0.
After a goal by each team, lightning struck again. Despite being up big, the Blue Devils maintained their intensity through a second weather delay.
"It was definitely difficult to stay focused during the breaks but having a lead definitely made it easier," Chrest said.
Duke went into halftime up 14-1. After the break, the Blue Devils' offense cooled down, but Duke managed to hold Holy Cross (14-7) to only one goal in the period while tallying four of its own.
The high scoring output was a positive sign for the Blue Devils, who only scored eight goals in a losing effort to Virginia in the ACC Championship April 30 and six in a win over Dartmouth May 7.
"We definitely got back to our fast break game against Holy Cross," Chrest said. "That is something that we lost a little bit of confidence in after the ACC game against Virginia and the one against Dartmouth."
With a recharged offensive attack, the Blue Devils hope to build on their first-round momentum against James Madison in their second-round matchup. Head coach Kerstin Kimel has warned her team that the Dukes are very good, and her squad has a lot to improve on before the second-round game.
The Blue Devils did not face the Dukes in the regular season. But Duke has squared off against and defeated the other six remaining teams in the NCAA tournament field, including defending champion Northwestern. Fortunately for the Blue Devils, Virginia-which handed Duke its only two losses of the season-was eliminated by Princeton, 8-7, in the first round. If the Blue Devils get by James Madison, they will face the winner of North Carolina and Northwestern in the semifinals in Boston May 26.
"This is one of the main reasons why we played the tough schedule in the regular season," Chrest said. "I think that it is helpful to know those teams because when you get to see those teams again, it's helpful to know their style."
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