Blue Devils Upend Hokies Despite Slow First Half Start

Friday, March 23

Durham, N.C.

7 p.m.

Duke University

Virginia Tech

No. 4 Duke Faces Nemesis In No. 1 Northwestern On Saturday

Blue Devils Upend Hokies Despite Slow First Half Start

3/23/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. -- No. 5 Duke (8-1, 1-1 ACC) rebounded from a slow offensive start to take out Virginia Tech (4-6, 0-3 ACC), 16-7 on Friday night. The Blue Devils were shut out for the first 14:16 of the game-- their longest drought to begin a contest this season-- but their defense dominated from start to finish, allowing the offense the time to get on its feet and take over. Junior attacker Caroline Cryer continued her stellar season, leading Duke with four goals and an assist on the evening.

The game started off very well for Virginia Tech, who has yet to win an ACC contest since they entered the conference in 2005. The Hokies' junior attacker Jenna Reich scored the first two goals of the game, and Tech held Duke scoreless for over 14 minutes of the first half. No team has been able to do that all season against the high-powered Blue Devil offense.

The doubt would be erased quickly, however, as the Blue Devils would score the next seven goals and go into the locker room with a 7-3 halftime lead. Freshman Christie Barnes would strike paydirt to start that run with her third goal of the season. Included in that stretch were Cryer's first two goals of the game, as well as two assists by senior attacker Kristen Waagbo. Reich would tally one more before the end of the half, but would be held scoreless in the second stanza.

Duke came out firing in the second half, scoring five consecutive goals and running their lead to 12-3. Cryer's third and fourth goals came in that run, as did senior midfielder Rachel Sanford's second and third goals and senior attacker Leigh Jester's second score of the contest.

The score would be stretched to 16-5 with five minutes remaining before the Hokies tallied two to bring the final to 16-7. All told, 11 Blue Devils would score at least one point in the game.

As it has on more than one occasion this season, Duke's defense would shine in the game, limiting Virginia Tech to three first half goals and seven for the game. While the Blue Devil offense was sputtering, the defense was what allowed them to stay in the game despite a strong start by the Hokies. Leading Duke's defensive effort were freshman midfielder Lindsay Gilbride with three caused turnovers and redshirt sophomore Kim Pastrana and sophomore Christina Germinario with three ground balls each. Sophomore goalkeeper Kim Imbesi would star as well, making eight saves in the match.

The Blue Devils are now 9-0 all-time against the Hokies, winning all of those contests by at least seven goals. Seven of those nine games have been won by at least 10 goals.

Cryer has 31 goals through nine games for Duke, averaging 3.44 per game. She also leads the team in draw controls with 25.

Waagbo set the all-time Duke assists' record earlier this season. She now has 91 career assists after tallying 19 in nine games. Waagbo is within range of several other records this season as well. She currently has 133 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 224 points are third on the all-time Duke list, with Chrest in first with 287 and Tricia Martin in second with 236. The 318 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.

Waagbo and Jester have both been honored recently by womenslacrosse.com. On March 12, Waagbo was placed on the website's weekly honor roll after her one goal and three assist effort in Duke's win over Princeton. A week later, on March 19, Jester earned the same distinction after her performance (five goals and one assist total) in victories over Vanderbilt and Georgetown.

Duke will return to action next Saturday, March 31, when they travel to Charlottesville, Va., to take on the No. 3 Virginia Cavaliers. Face-off for that ACC showdown is set for 12 p.m., as the Blue Devils will try to avenge their two losses to the Cavaliers last season.

-d-u-k-e-