Tying the single-game record was simply not enough last week.
Freshman Charlotte North had to break Duke's single-game scoring record her next time out, tying the single-game points record in the process.
At the final buzzer, North had scored eight goals on just eight shots while adding an assist for good measure, matching senior midfielder Maddie Crutchfield’s nine-point output from two years back, also against Louisville.
The Blue Devils dominated from the start in a 21-12 trouncing of the Cardinals Saturday afternoon at Koskinen Stadium to snag their first conference victory of the season. Along with North’s work, junior attack Olivia Jenner cruised on the draw, securing a career-high 15 draw controls as Duke went up 16-5 after just 30 minutes of play.
“They’ve had an awesome week of practice, really from the front end of the week to the back end of the week,” Duke head coach Kerstin Kimel told Goduke.com. “The kids did an excellent job of having everything translate to the field from the game-plan, as well as from an execution standpoint.”
Jenner’s effort from the circle helped the Blue Devils (5-2, 1-1 in the ACC) get off and running, as they scored on their first four possessions—all off draw control wins. Crutchfield started it off with her first of three goals off a pass from classmate Grace Fallon, who led the team with four assists. North did not strike until the final of the four tallies, as Duke took a 4-0 lead less than two minutes into the contest.
“For us to really push in transition, that’s our go-to and what we’re really good at,” Jenner said. “Pushing that fast break really allowed us to get a good start on them.”
After Louisville (5-3, 0-2) found the back of the net on Caroline Blalock’s first of four goals and freshman Lindsey Reynolds countered, North went on a tear.
Striking at the 26:29 mark of the first half on a pass from senior attack Kyra Harney, North scored five of the Blue Devils’ next eight goals, finishing off her sixth of the contest—and last of the first half—with more than 11 minutes left in the period on a second Harney pass.
North wasted little time in the second half tying the single-game record in goals, scoring on yet another dish from Harney less than a minute in. Her record-breaker came minutes later, this time on a pass from Crutchfield, giving Duke an 18-6 lead.
“We talked about on offense this week all seven of us being a threat, and I think that really showed today,” North said. “Everyone was moving the ball, looking and finding the open cutters and that’s when we put our points on the board.”
The Blue Devils featured eight different goal-scorers, with five recording multi-goal games. Although it relaxed a bit more than Kimel would have preferred with the game already in hand, Duke could settle back after winning the shots battle 33-10 and draw controls 19-2 in the first half.
Sophomore starter Gabbe Cadoux struggled through the first 20 minutes of the game, managing just one save on six shots on goal, but with the Blue Devils already winning 13-5 at that point, Kimel opted to insert junior Jamie Lockwood, who recorded eight saves.
Louisville tried its best to make the contest interesting at the end, rattling off six straight goals to trim its deficit to eight, but it was too little, too late with just two and a half minutes left.
The Cardinals found success at the eight-meter mark, scoring five of their seven second-half goals on free position opportunities after getting just two chances in the first period.
“All week, our theme was that we have to have seven threats. I think that you saw that today,” Kimel said. “Especially even when Charlotte was face-guarded, we were able to find her and give her some opportunities to score, and different people [too]. I think we scored in different ways… [I’m] thrilled with how we finished as well.”
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