Duke women's lacrosse demolishes East Carolina on the road

Last Saturday, Duke hung around with No. 1 Boston College for the first half of the game and trailed by just three at the half but was doomed by an offensive explosion from the Eagles in the second half. 

Four days later, the Blue Devils flipped the script and used a dominant run of their own after the break to seal the deal on their ninth victory of the season.

No. 12 Duke defeated East Carolina 22-9 Tuesday night at Johnson Stadium in Greenville, N.C., as the Blue Devils held their hosts to just one goal in the second period while scoring nine themselves to coast to an easy win. Charlotte North—who is ranked third in the nation in goals per game with 4.57—netted seven against the Pirates and Olivia Jenner added a hat trick to pace the Blue Devils, who ended a brief two-game skid with the win. East Carolina has now lost its last eight contests after beginning the season 5-1. 

North helped Duke get off to a quick start with three unassisted goals in the first seven minutes of the game as the Blue Devils leapt out to an early 4-2 lead. Duke continued to extend its lead, but East Carolina had an answer at every turn, cutting into the Blue Devils’ lead and keeping it to within three a little past the midway point of the period. 

Emma Bowman scored four of the Pirates’ eight first half goals, but it was not enough to help get her team back into the game. Headed into the locker room at halftime, the Blue Devils were up 13-8, with the Pirates scoring two more goals in the last three minutes to bring the game within five. Duke had eight different Blue Devils score in the first half—showing the depth of the team and everyone’s ability to contribute.

The Pirates (5-9) scored one more goal in the first five minutes of the second period and then Duke (9-5) went on a scoring run to beat its opponents by a whopping 13 goals. By the end of the game, 11 Blue Devils contributed at least one goal, with five notching at least two. Olivia Jenner’s second period hat trick was her third straight game with one, and she had eight draw controls on the night. Maddie Jenner joined her with eight draws as well.

After a 9-0 run, the team’s 22 goals on the day marked their largest scoring output of the season. North has notched 64 goals on the season at the end of Tuesday’s contest, along with 21 assists. Olivia Jenner follows suit with 43 goals on the season and 21 assists. 

Duke will now continue in its rigorous ACC slate with No. 4 Notre Dame Sunday at 12 p.m. at Koskinen Stadium. It will then finish out regular season play against its Tobacco Road rival the following Friday.