No. 2 Duke Edges No. 5 Maryland 9-7 In ACC Opener

Saturday, February 25

Durham, N.C.

12 p.m.

Duke University

Maryland

Megan Huether Named ACC Player of the Week

No. 2 Duke Edges No. 5 Maryland 9-7 In ACC Opener

2/25/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse

By: Duke Sports Information

Durham, N.C. - No. 2 Duke used an 8-0 run over a 23-minute span to defeat No. 5 Maryland 9-7 at Koskinen Stadium on Saturday. The game was the home opener for the Blue Devils and the first ACC contest of the season for both teams.

The Terps jumped ahead just 16 seconds into the game when their leading scorer, Delia Cox scored the first of her three goals on the day off a free position shot. Less than a minute later, the Blue Devils tied the score when Rachel Sanford sent a shot past Maryland goalie Allie Buote at the 28:50 mark. The Terps would go on to score three straight goals over the next eight minutes to take a 4-1 lead. However, the Blue Devils' defense tightened up the rest of the way, holding Maryland scoreless over the final 20 minutes of the first half.

Meanwhile, Duke's offense got it going with six unanswered goals to head into halftime with a 7-4 lead. During that stretch, five different players scored with Sanford knotting two goals to give her three in the first half.

The Blue Devils got off to a quick start in the second half, extending their lead to 9-4 with two goals by freshman Carolyn Davis in the first three minutes. Davis finished the game with three goals. She has scored three goals in two of her first three collegiate games. The teams battled back-and-forth with no goals scored over the next 17 minutes. In the final 10:34 of the game, Maryland would try and stage a comeback with three goals but they would fall just short in the 9-7 loss.

Duke goalie Megan Huether came up big in the second half with eight of her 11 saves coming after halftime. Maryland held a 17-9 advantage in total shots in the second half but could only net three goals. The Terps also forced 19 turnovers with 13 coming in the second half to hold Duke's powerful offense scoreless in the final 27 minutes of the game.

Katie Chrest became Duke's all-time leading scorer with her 162nd career goal in the game. She entered the contest in a tie with Tricia Martin for the record and tallied her lone goal on a free position shot with 7:30 left in the first half.

The Blue Devils will have a week off before their next game. They will host Duquesne on Saturday, March 4 at 11 a.m. in Koskinen Stadium.