No. 3 seed awarded to Duke women's lacrosse in 18th straight NCAA tournament

For the 18th consecutive season, the Blue Devils will be playing postseason lacrosse.

Duke was awarded a No. 3 seed and a first-round bye in the NCAA tournament and will open play Sunday at 2 p.m. against the winner of the first-round contest between James Madison and Southern California at Koskinen Stadium. Head coach Kerstin Kimel's squad enters postseason play on a skid, having lost three of four, but has the offensive firepower to reach the program's first Final Four since 2011.

The Blue Devils (14-4) fell into a deep hole early Sunday against No. 17 Johns Hopkins, getting down 9-1 before scoring the game's final seven goals, ultimately falling just short of a dramatic comeback victory. Duke dropped a 14-10 decision to Syracuse in the ACC tournament semifinals April 24 and will look to get back on track against the Trojans or the Dukes.

A roster stacked with veterans, Duke has plenty of postseason experience to rely on as it embarks on what it hopes will be a lengthy postseason run. Seniors Kerrin Maurer, Brigid Smith, Katie Trees and Taylor Trimble have each registered more than 30 goals, and Maurer doubles as the Blue Devils' leading scorer and distributor with 37 goals and 27 assists.

James Madison (15-4) enters the NCAA tournament having captured its ninth Colonial Athletic Conference title and Southern California (13-5) enters the Big Dance coming off a loss to Stanford in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation conference tournament title game.