Women's Lacrosse Handed First Loss at Virginia

Saturday, March 21

Charlottesville, Va.

1:00 PM

Duke University

Virginia

Women's Lacrosse Handed First Loss at Virginia

3/21/2015 4:49:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

By: Duke Sports Information

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The fourth-ranked Blue Devils were unable to overcome a slow start, suffering their first loss of the season in a 13-10 setback at No. 8 Virginia Saturday afternoon at Klöckner Stadium. Duke dropped to 9-1 overall and 3-1 in ACC play while the Cavaliers improved to 6-4 and 1-2 in conference action.

“Virginia played a great game today and executed a great game plan against us,” said head coach Kerstin Kimel. “We didn't put ourselves in a position to respond the way I think we're capable of playing. It's unfortunate. Virginia's a good team and they made us pay for mistakes. We didn't capitalize on all the opportunities we had.”

Casey Bocklet of Virginia led all scorers with four goals and teammate Courtney Swan also picked up a hat trick with three. Senior Kerrin Maurer collected her fourth hat trick and seventh multiple-assist effort to headline the Duke attack.

After freshman Kyra Harney scored the game's first goal just over a minute into the contest, Virginia rattled off five straight with Bocklet and Swan netting two each. Duke's defense stepped up in response to the run and junior goalkeeper Kelsey Duryea registered her first two saves. Harney added a second tally at the 12:22 mark and junior midfielder Maddy Acton fired one past Rachel Vander Kolk of the Cavaliers just minutes later, but the home team countered each time to take a 7-3 advantage into the locker room at the half.

Virginia went 7-for-7 on clear attempts in the first 30 minutes and held the edge at the draw while Duke was 0-for-3 from the eight meter.

The Cavaliers opened the second half with a pair of markers by Swan and Kelly Boyd to extend their lead to 9-3. Maurer then sparked a four-goal burst for the Blue Devils, converting on a free position opportunity, and Duryea followed with a save from her knees on an eight-meter attempt by Virginia. Sophomore Stuart Humphrey came up with a loose ball after a Duke shot off the post to set up an Erin Tenneson score. Maurer and senior Chelsea Landon also found the back of the net during the run to pull the Blue Devils within three.

Following two saves in the net by Duryea, the Cavaliers broke through for two more goals to remain in front by four with 10:41 to play. Maurer found senior Taylor Trimble for a quick answer but Virginia's Bocklet tacked on her fourth tally and teammate Kelly Reese also scored to push the margin to five with less than four minutes remaining. Freshman Maddie Crutchfield capitalized from the eight-meter and Maurer earned a hat trick with 36 seconds remaining but the clock ran out before the Blue Devils could complete the rally.

“Offensively today, we didn't shoot well,” Kimel said. “I just don't think we executed well offensively. Defensively, we made some errors that I think are correctable. We just had a lot of mental errors today that we can't afford to make when we're in ACC play. We've got to make sure that we get back in the saddle this week and we right that ship quickly heading into Syracuse next weekend.”

Duryea finished with seven saves and three ground balls for Duke in the loss while Vander Kolk had six stops for the Cavaliers.

Senior Katie Trees paced the Blue Devils on the draw with four but Virginia won the category by a 13-12 margin. The Cavaliers also led narrowly in shots, 25-24, and went a perfect 12-of-12 in clearing attempts.

Duke returns home to Koskinen Stadium Saturday, March 28 to host ACC opponent Syracuse in a 1 p.m. matchup on the Blue Devil Network. The Blue Devils will also hold a pregame Easter Egg Eggstravaganza and a postgame Youth Clinic in conjunction with the game.

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