Playing indoors to escape the frigid temperatures of the Windy City, the Blue Devils continued their hot streak to start off the season.
Behind a career-best four goals from senior Katie Trees, No. 8 Duke snapped an 11-game losing streak to Northwestern Thursday with a 15-9 victory against the No. 5 Wildcats at the Accelerated Center in Glenbrook, Ill. The Blue Devils commanded the draw control 17-9, earning the bulk of the possessions to pull away from their hosts.
"We have great depth this year and it shows," Duke head coach Kerstin Kimel told GoDuke.com. "We're able to run a lot of players and make sure that they get good rest in between, so I think that what was great today—and I think it shows in our scoring—is that we have a lot of kids who can play and a lot of kids who are dangerous on the field."
Eight different Blue Devils found the back of the net for Duke (4-0), led by Trees' four scores. The San Diego native doubled her season total with the four strikes, including a pair of goals in less than a minute near the halfway point of the second half to turn a 10-8 lead into a 12-8 advantage.
Duke headed to the locker room leading 9-7, but five consecutive goals by the Blue Devils allowed them to pull away. Freshman Kyra Harney notched her seventh goal of the season ahead of Trees' two scores, and senior Kerrin Maurer—who recorded her second hat trick of the season—added another. After senior Erin Tenneson's third goal of the year slipped past Wildcat goalkeeper Bridget Bianco, Duke had turned a close game into a 14-8 lead with 11:03 to play.
Northwestern (2-1) entered the game struggling at the draw, having lost 25 of 40 in its first two games, and Thursday brought more of the same. Led by Maurer and classmate Taylor Trimble, Duke earned possession after possession by winning the draw control, allowing the Blue Devils to build and then extend their lead.
"I thought our kids on the draw did a super job from Kerrin [Maurer] and [Taylor] Trimble who took the draw to the kids on the circle and kids coming off the line who battled," Kimel said. "Maura Schwitter and Emma Lazaroff together really had the best draw of the day. Maura made a really gutsy play and [Lazaroff] kept the ball inbounds and we were able to gain possession at a critical point, so it was awesome."
Even though Duke was on the attack for much of the game, it was not always an easy afternoon for Kelsey Duryea. The junior goalkeeper made nine saves—seven in the second half—and was able to turn back a dangerous Northwestern attack.
Wildcat freshman Selena Lasota continued her strong start to her collegiate career, pouring in five goals to keep Northwestern hanging around. But she did not get much help from her teammates, as just one other player—Kaleigh Craig—was able to solve the Duke defense and sneak anything past Duryea. The Wildcats scored just twice after halftime.
"We made some adjustments coming out of halftime and I thought that our kids handled them well, and it was definitely the right thing to do," Kimel said. "They've got a couple kids that are just big and powerful and we were having a hard time containing them when we played extended. We decided to put a little less pressure on them and I think it also gave Kelsey [Duryea] more time to see the ball because we were able to contain them a little better that way."
Although the Blue Devils ended up controlling much of the contest, they struggled to find their footing early on. Duke found itself in a quick 2-0 hole on 2:03, but as it did in the second half quickly recovered with four straight goals to seize momentum. Trees connected for her first tally of the day, followed by a goal from senior Brigid Smith and back-to-back strikes by junior Maddy Acton, all unassisted. The Blue Devils would never trail again after responding to the Wildcats' early punch.
Claiming the program's first win against Northwestern since 2006 on a short week of practice required strong leadership. Luckily for Kimel, her team has that, in the form of eight seniors. That veteran group finally got to walk off the field as winners against the Wildcats Thursday.
"We've been in this situation for a number of years and we haven't won, so for us to come in here in a non-traditional setting, indoors, and perform really well—travel mid-week, all that—I'm really proud of our kids. I thought that they handled the whole trip and the preparation for the game really well," Kimel said. "Nothing was normal but our girls handled it really well."
Duke returns to action Sunday against William and Mary Sunday at 1 p.m.
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