Duke women's lacrosse won its sixth straight game on the road in Louisville, Ky., Saturday afternoon. The 17-7 victory fortified the team's winning record as the 12th-ranked Blue Devils near the end of the regular season.
“Once we settled in we got into a nice rhythm, and we were able to finish our shots,” head coach Kerstin Kimel said Sunday.
Duke (12-3, 6-2 in the ACC) entered the end of the first half in the UofL Lacrosse Stadium with a strong 10-4 lead over the Cardinals. Seniors Carly Bernstein and Mattie Shearer started the scoring with one goal each, taking early opportunities to find a window for the ball to reach the net. Bernstein showed no evidence of backing off. She forced a turnover from the Louisville goalkeeper and, capitalizing on the loose ball, netted her second goal with nearly five minutes left in the first period.
Bernstein, fashioning jersey No. 25, seemed to always be at the center of play. Finding back-to-back openings, the Short Hills, N.J., native made her way to the net to score two goals less than a minute apart in the first half.
“Carly had a great game,” Kimel said. “She really got us started. Her two assists and shots set the tone for our offense yesterday.”
Blue Devil defense dominated Louisville in the second half. The team forced the Cardinals (7-9, 1-7 in the ACC) into a scoring drought for the third quarter. On the other side of the field, Duke experienced the complete opposite of a drought. Eva Pronti and Callie Hem carried out their dynamic offensive play, where Pronti, 7:26 into the first quarter, found an opportunity to feed Hem the ball to score. Bernstein repeated her back-to-back scoring feat by notching two more goals at the end of the quarter. The Blue Devils led 12-4 with a quarter remaining.
At this point, Duke has scored 10 or more goals in 15 straight games. After surpassing their 10th goal against Louisville, the Blue Devils showed no sign of slowing down. Pronti took a step back from assisting and took a step forward to score her own goal. Less than a minute into the fourth quarter, she was able to slip past the weak Louisville defense. Time ran out for the Cardinals to figure out how to respond to the potent and connected Blue Devil offense. Redshirt junior Tess Gagliano scored the game's last goal with 55 seconds remaining, sealing Duke’s 17-7 victory.
Midfielder Kerry Nease’s ability to lead the draw controls was a main contributor to the Blue Devils' dominance. The Richmond, Va., native kept Duke in consistent possession as she recorded 10 draw controls against the Cardinals.
“Kerry Nease on the draw has done a phenomenal job and she has gotten better every week,” Kimel said.
Each team forced 12 turnovers from the other, but Duke capitalized on its forced turnovers far more effectively than Louisville did: The Blue Devils outshot the Cardinals by 14 goals.
Caitlin Barett and Bella Goodwin contributed to the Blue Devils' high-scoring game as well. Barrett, fighting clock pressure, notched her first goal of the game toward the end of the first quarter, combining with Bernstein and Shearer for a three-goal run. Goodwin was instrumental in the team's five-goal run later on, scoring her first goal of the game in the second quarter.
Duke is strategically positioned to wrap up its regular season with an upcoming matchup against the Tar Heels Thursday at 6 p.m. in Koskinen Stadium.
“Like any ACC team, we are going to have to play well if we want to win against the Tar Heels,” Kimel said. “And I think that we are going to have a strong offensive play to match their defensive threats.”
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