Field Hockey Falls to Syracuse, 2-1, in ACC Finale

Saturday, October 25

Syracuse, N.Y.

1:00 PM

Duke University

Syracuse

Field Hockey Falls to Syracuse, 2-1, in ACC Finale

10/25/2014 4:07:00 PM | Field Hockey

By: Duke Sports Information

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The sixth-ranked Blue Devils received an early goal from freshman forward Ashley Kristen but were unable to hold off No. 10 Syracuse, falling to the Orange in overtime by a 2-1 score Saturday afternoon at J.S. Coyne Stadium. Duke (11-5) concluded the ACC portion of its regular season slate with a 2-4 ledger, and will host the 2014 ACC Championship in two weeks as the tournament's No. 7 seed.

Kristen chipped the ball over Syracuse goalkeeper Jess Jecko just 35 seconds into Saturday's contest to give the Blue Devils the early advantage. The goal marked the fifth of the season for the rookie from Vancouver, British Columbia, tying her for second on the team.

Both sides worked for looks at the cage over the remainder of the opening period, with Duke goalkeeper Lauren Blazing logging three saves in the first 17 minutes to keep the Orange off the board. The Blue Devil defense also weathered a pair of Syracuse penalty corners in the first half to maintain a 1-0 lead going into the break.

The two defenses prevented a shot on goal for the better part of the second period until Laura Hurff of the Orange tallied the equalizer in the 56th minute. Blazing then came up with three critical saves on consecutive Syracuse penalty corners to keep the deficit at just one goal. Syracuse leading scorer Lieke Visser launched a final shot at the 64:23 mark that was also turned away by Blazing, and the match was sent to overtime with the score locked at 1-1.

Emma Russell of the Orange put back her own rebound just over a minute into overtime to secure the 2-1 victory for Syracuse.

Blazing finished with a season-high 10 saves in the loss. The Orange held a 22-4 advantage in shots for the contest and had the edge in penalty corners, 5-0.

Following Saturday's action, the Blue Devils received the No. 7 seed in the upcoming ACC Championship Nov. 6-9 at Williams Field at Jack Katz Stadium. Duke will open the tournament by facing No. 2 seed North Carolina (14-2, 4-2) in the quarterfinals Thursday, Nov. 6 at 1:30 p.m. on ESPN3.

The Blue Devils conclude regular season play Saturday, Nov. 1 in a 5 p.m. non-conference matchup at Richmond.

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