In the opening day of the ACC Tournament, No. 4 Duke cruised to an easy 17-6 victory over Boston College to advance to the semifinals.
The Blue Devils (12-4) scored the first eight goals of the game, setting the tone for the rest of the contest, and left the Eagles (10-5) in the dust.
“Obviously, if you look at the score, I’m thrilled,” head coach Kerstin Kimel said. “It was a huge difference from the last time we played them, and I’m really pleased with our effort today.”
Duke was up by eight in the first 12 minutes, and the team made over half its shots in the first half—8-of-14, while Boston College made only 1-of-8.
The Blue Devils last faced the Eagles April 10 at Koskinen Stadium and came away with a close 12-11 victory after coming back from a four-goal deficit in the second half.
“The last time we played Boston College, I didn’t feel like we came out ready to play, and today, I felt like we came out strong from the get-go,” Kimel said.
Following the win, Duke faces top-seeded North Carolina (13-1) Friday at 2:30 p.m. at Ludwig Field on the campus of Maryland in the semifinals of the tournament.
The Blue Devils fell to the Tar Heels 9-6 in an away matchup last week and hope to come away with a win this time around to advance to the finals.
“That was one of our better games of the seasons, but one of the differences was that we didn’t shoot well [against North Carolina April 14],” Kimel said. “We did well on the draw, and we defended them well. We had some great offensive opportunities, but we didn’t finish on the shots, and if we can generate the same kinds of opportunities this time, I think we’ll be in good shape.”
Duke has one more regular-season contest against Brown at home May 9 before the NCAA Tournament starting the second week of May.
Competing with a relatively young team this year, the Blue Devils are hoping to gain more experience out of the ACC Championships to better prepare them for the NCAA Tournament.
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