Waagbo Breaks Her Own Record As Duke Rolls Over Longwood, 22-6

Sunday, April 22

Durham, N.C.

1 p.m.

Duke University

Longwood

Waagbo Named WomensLax.com And Inside Lacrosse Player Of The Week

Waagbo Breaks Her Own Record As Duke Rolls Over Longwood, 22-6

4/22/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. -- No. 3 Duke (13-2, 4-1 ACC) won their third game in a row as it defeated Longwood (3-12) by a score of 22-6 on a sunny afternoon in Durham. Senior Kristen Waagbo broke her own record of 32 assists in a season that she set in 2006 when she dished the ball to sophomore midfielder Carolyn Davis for a goal five minutes into the contest. A total of 13 Blue Devils found the net throughout the day, including seven players with multiple goals and 11 scores coming from off the bench.

On a day when the temperature was at 80 degrees and the sky was clear, the Devils improved their perfect home record this season to 7-0 and own a 12-game winning streak at Koskinen dating back to last season. Their 13-2 record this year is the second-best 15-game showing in the program's history after 2006's 14-1 mark.

The first five minutes of the game gave the Blue Devils a little scare, as Longwood tied the score at 1-1 and 2-2 in the early going. The Blue Devils awoke and took control from that point on, tallying the next eight goals and 14 of the next 15 to close out the half with a 16-3 lead.

The first half was highlighted with the most goals scored in one half for the Devils this season. Leading the way was Waagbo with three goals and two assists, junior attacker Caroline Cryer with three goals and one assist and senior attacker Leigh Jester with two scores and three assists. Adding to the total with two goals each were senior midfielder Rachel Sanford and freshman midfielder Lindsay Gilbride.

As every available Blue Devil saw time in the second half, the Duke offense cooled down but still dominated possession and outscored the Lancers, 6-3, in the period. Senior attacker Meeghan Ford notched her second goal and added an assist and freshman attacker Alexandra Ryan scored-- this time twice-- for the second game in a row. Sophomore attacker Megan Del Monte came through with her third assist of the day in the second half.

Duke's defense put in a strong performance for the third consecutive game, this time with sophomore goalkeeper Kim Imbesi making five saves in the first half and junior goalkeeper Regan Bosch making three in the second. Sanford and freshman midfielder Christie Barnes each picked up three ground balls and caused two turnovers to aid the defensive effort.

The Blue Devils outplayed the Lancers in every aspect of the game--- shots (37-17), ground balls (18-12), draw controls (19-11), caused turnovers (10-4) clears (5-5 to 3-6), free-position shots (4-4 to 1-1) and saves (8-5). Longwood even had more fouls (15-10) and turnovers (16-12).

Longwood was led by sophomore midfielder Liz Sellmayer, who hit paydirt three times, and senior midfielder Cathleen Strain, who put two in the back of the net.

Waagbo set the all-time Duke assists record on Feb. 18 this season against Stanford and now has 106 career assists after tallying a school record 34 on the season. She leads the ACC in assists per game with 2.27 and points with 4.67. Waagbo has put herself near the top of other school records as well. She is currently second on the all-time Duke points' list with 257, third all-time with 350 shots and fourth in school history with 151 goals.

Cryer, with a team-best 53 goals on the season, leads the ACC and is third in the NCAA in goals per game with 3.53. At that pace, she could break former standout Katie Chrest's all-time Duke season record of 70 in 21 games. Cryer is second in the ACC in points per game with 4.33. Her 47 draw controls this season also lead the Blue Devils in that category.

The 2007 ACC Women's Lacrosse Tournament will begin in Chapel Hill, N.C. on Thurs., April 26 and continue through Sun., April 29. Duke is the No. 2 seed and will play on Friday at 3 p.m. against the winner of the North Carolina- Virginia Tech match, which takes place on Thursday at 1 p.m. The championship game is scheduled for Sun., April 29 at 1 p.m.

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