No. 4 Blue Devils Fall To 11th-Ranked Ohio State In NCAA Tournament Opener, 10-7

May 8, 2003

The Duke University women's lacrosse team concluded its season with a 13-5 record after falling to No. 11 Ohio State, 10-7, on Thursday at Koskinen Stadium in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. Senior Lauren Gallagher collected three goals for the Blue Devils, while Kate Kaiser added a pair of goals. The Buckeyes, now 14-3 on the season, were led by Caroline Weatherill's four-goal effort with Regina Wilson adding three goals.

Ohio State, ranked 11th in the latest IWLCA poll, advances to face Princeton in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers won their opening round game, 19-1, over Le Moyne on Thursday.

Katie Chrest, a freshman attack, got the Blue Devils on the board first with her 39th goal of the season, 3:15 into the contest. Weatherill struck back for Ohio State just over a minute later to tie the contest 1-1.

Duke regained the led at the 24:48 mark when Kaiser split the defense for her first goal of the day. Gallagher pushed the advantage to 3-1 just over a minute later with a free position goal. The Buckeyes rebounded to control the action over the final 20 minutes of the first half, scoring five unanswered goals.

Wilson began the Ohio State surge with a free position goal at the 17:55 mark, before Weatherill rattled off three straight goals over the next 13 minutes, with the final goal coming with 4:23 remaining in the opening half. Wilson collected her second goal of the spurt with just 12 seconds left before halftime to give the Buckeyes a 6-3 lead.

The Ohio State lead grew to 7-3 in the second half as Wilson completed her hat-trick 1:39 into the second stanza. Kaiser trimmed the deficit to 7-4 with 15:44 remaining when she stick-checked the ball away from a Buckeye defender, picked up the ground ball and beat Ohio State goalie Erin Forquer.

Shannon Wilson put the Buckeyes back in command with goals with 14:06 and 11:04 left in the contest, giving Ohio State a 9-4 advantage. Duke mounted a charge that began with just over seven minutes remaining when Jessica Bennett deposited a Kelly Dirks pass into goal.

With 6:02 remaining, Gallagher trimmed the score to 9-6 in favor of the Buckeyes and just 20 seconds later collected her third goal of the day to create just a two-goal deficit for the Blue Devils. Duke used the momentum to win the ensuing draw control but was unable to capitalize.

The Buckeyes regained possession and Andrea Fischer helped secure the win with just under three minutes remaining, scoring off a Wilson pass to put Ohio State ahead 10-7.