Mackintire Goal Lifts Duke Over Liberty, 3-2

Sunday, October 12

Durham, N.C.

1:00 PM

Duke University

Liberty

Mackintire Invited to U.S. U21 Junior National Camp

Mackintire Goal Lifts Duke Over Liberty, 3-2

10/12/2014 4:14:00 PM | Field Hockey

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. – Freshman Alexa Mackintire scored with 23 seconds remaining in regulation to propel ninth-ranked Duke to a 3-2 victory over Liberty on a rainy Sunday afternoon at Williams Field at Jack Katz Stadium. Head coach Pam Bustin's squad improved to 10-3 on the season and 8-1 against non-conference opponents.

After recording two goals in the first 10 minutes of action, the Blue Devils were unable to hang on to the lead, as Liberty knotted up the contest early in the second half. The latter part of the period saw Duke bring increased attacking pressure and Mackintire broke through the Flames' defense in the final minute to prevent the Blue Devils from playing their second consecutive overtime game.

Duke held an 18-6 advantage in shots for the afternoon while placing 13 shots on goal. Penalty corners were also in the home team's favor by a slight 6-5 margin.

“It's a great win for us,” Bustin said. “It's a great win on a weekend when we had a tough game, a long game on Friday. To come out and play a good and determined team in Liberty was a great test for us. I'm proud of the kids for finishing it.”

Junior midfielder Aileen Johnson put the Blue Devils on the board eight minutes in on a penalty stroke, marking her second successful attempt of the year. Freshman forward Ashley Kristen added another tally just over a minute and a half later, finishing on a feed from Mackintire for her third goal of the season.

Liberty nearly came up with an answer midway through the half, but had a nice-looking shot tipped into the cage by a Duke defender, negating the opportunity. The Flames succeeded in getting past the Blue Devil defense just a short while later on a play at the post by freshman forward Alynn Richardson. Teammate Sarah Gipe provided the assist to cut the deficit to one.

Following a key tackle by senior midfielder Abby Beltrani that broke up a Liberty corner attempt, possession changed hands several times before the end of the period, but the score remained 2-1 at the intermission.

The two teams traded penalty corners to begin the second half, and the Flames were able to tie up the game in the 48th minute when Gipe put back a rebound off of a save by Duke goalkeeper Lauren Blazing.

“We just had to get back to the simple things that we need to do,” Bustin said. “They know what has to be done, but just go back to it and trust it. And then just take care of your responsibilities. We had to get tighter and better on our marking in the circle and we needed to get pressure on the ball sooner. That's what we finally did.”

The Blue Devils responded by picking up activity on their offensive end, logging nine shots over the remainder of the period. Johnson fired a hard-hit shot from the top of the circle that bounced off the crossbar and Liberty goalkeeper Mallory Cuccio, but did not go into the cage. As the clock ran down, Robin Blazing and Kristen followed suit with offerings before Mackintire took advantage of a chaotic situation in front of Liberty's cage to knock in the gamewinner.

“I love the spark that we had in the latter part of the half,” Bustin said. “I loved the energy we had in the attacking. It was just a matter of time where it had to go in. It was just a matter of composure. I'm glad the kids just kept fighting. They were there for each other.”

Mackintire moved her season points total to seven with a goal and assist on the day. Lauren Blazing finished with two saves for the contest while Cuccio of the Flames had nine stops. Liberty also received a defensive save from Bethany Barr in the second half. The loss snapped an eight-game win streak for the Flames.

Duke remains at home next weekend, hosting North Carolina in ACC action Friday, Oct. 17 at 6 p.m. on ESPN3. The Blue Devils will honor the program's three seniors Sunday, Oct. 19 prior to a 1 p.m. contest against James Madison in the regular season home finale.

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