Cryer And Jester Score Four Each As Duke Hammers Vanderbilt, 18-6

Wednesday, March 14

Durham, N.C.

2 p.m.

Duke University

Vanderbilt

Five Blue Devils Named to US Lacrosse Women?s Elite and Developmental Teams

Cryer And Jester Score Four Each As Duke Hammers Vanderbilt, 18-6

3/14/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. -- No. 4 Duke (6-1, 0-1 ACC) put on one of their most impressive displays of the season on Wednesday afternoon, defeating No. 16 Vanderbilt (3-3, 0-1 ALC), 18-6. The Blue Devils' defense hounded the Commodores, only allowing three goals through the first 49 minutes of play. Senior attacker Leigh Jester and junior attacker Caroline Cryer each netted four goals on the offensive end. Junior attacker Margie Curran paced Vanderbilt with three goals on the day.

From start to finish, Duke was as hot as the 85-degree weather on this unseasonably warm March day. The Blue Devils scored five of the first six goals and led 10-2 at halftime. Included in the half were Jester's first two goals and two goals by senior attacker Kristen Waagbo. Waagbo would finish with three goals and an assist.

Redshirt sophomore Jessica Adam notched her first goal of the season with 17 seconds left in the half on a pass from sophomore midfielder Carolyn Davis. Davis added a goal of her own in the goal and had a total of two assists.

The real story of the first half and the game for that matter was the defense of Duke. Vanderbilt was only allowed three shots in the entire first half and 15 for the game, while Duke took 29 and 50. The Commodores struggled to get and keep the ball in the offensive third. Duke's defense caused eight turnovers in the game and Vanderbilt committed a total of 20. The Blue Devils also dominated in ground balls, 21-10.

The second half would start out with five straight Blue Devil goals, including two by Cryer and two by Jester. Vanderbilt would outscore Duke 4-3 for the last 15 minutes as all 30 active players on the Blue Devil roster saw action in the game. 10 different Duke players would score during the game, including the first goal of the season for senior attacker Kim Wathey late in the second half.

Cryer now has 26 goals through seven games for Duke, averaging 3.71 per game. She also leads the team in draw controls with 20 and is tied for second in ground balls with 10.

Waagbo set the all-time Duke assists record on Feb. 18 against Stanford. She now has 86 career assists after tallying 14 in the first seven games. Waagbo is within range of breaking several other records this season as well. She currently has 129 career goals, which puts her in fifth place behind former Blue Devil Lauren Gallagher with 140. Katie Chrest holds the school record with 216. Waagbo's 215 points are third on the all-time Duke list, with Chrest in first with 287 and Tricia Martin in second with 236. The 303 shots Waagbo has taken is good for fifth-best in the program's history, while Kate Kaiser sits in fourth with 325 and Chrest holds the top position with 528.

Senior midfielder Rachel Sanford was named the ACC Player of the Week on March 12 for her efforts in Duke's win over Princeton this past weekend. Included in her four goals for the game were two in the last eight minutes, including the game-winner. Sanford returned to the starting lineup after going down with an injury early in Duke's loss at Maryland on Saturday, March 3.

The Blue Devils next game will be in Washington, D.C. on Sun., March 18 at 1p.m. as they take on No. 10 Georgetown. Duke will return home for an ACC contest with Virginia Tech on Fri., March 23 at 7 p.m.

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