No. 6 Stanford Slides Past No. 5 Duke in OT, 3-2

Sunday, August 30

Stanford, Calif.

5:00 PM

Duke University

Stanford

No. 6 Stanford Slides Past No. 5 Duke in OT, 3-2

8/30/2015 7:42:00 PM | Field Hockey

By: Duke Sports Information

STANFORD, Calif. – Fifth-ranked Duke jumped out to a two-goal lead over No. 6 Stanford but was unable to keep the momentum rolling, falling in a 3-2 overtime decision to the Cardinal Sunday afternoon. The Blue Devils dropped to 1-1 on the fall after coming up short in their first overtime contest of the young 2015 season.

Duke redshirt senior Lauren Blazing and Stanford's Dulcie Davies turned in outstanding performances in goal, as both were forced to make difficult saves against a combined 30 shots. Blazing logged 13 stops in the loss while Davies finished with seven.

Stanford was the first to get a look at the cage, testing Blazing and the Blue Devil defense in the opening minutes. Blazing made two stops on an early possession and added another midway through the first period to keep the Cardinal off the board.

The Blue Devils drew their first offensive penalty corner in the 12th minute and were able to keep breaking into their attacking third the remainder of the half. Senior Sarah Urdahl finished on an opportunity inside 10 minutes later, sending a rebound back over Stanford's Davies to put Duke in front, 1-0. The goal was Urdahl's first of the 2015 campaign.

Coming off of a five-goal performance in a season-opening victory over California Friday, the Blue Devils' forwards continued to generate looks as the half wore on. Junior Heather Morris broke outside and sent a long ball across the circle to the opposite post, where sophomore midfielder Alexa Mackintire tapped it in. That extended the Blue Devils' lead to 2-0 in the 31st minute.

“It was a great effort and finish, and that's what we need,” said head coach Pam Bustin. “Nothing is going to come easy and everything is going to have to be earned. I thought that those two goals, particularly, were earned by the Duke players. They really fought hard to finish it, they did it as a team, they did it together.”

Duke took the two-goal advantage into the intermission, totaling seven shots in the first 35 minutes to four by the Cardinal. The Blue Devils also held their opponent without a penalty corner in the first half.

Sophomore forward Ashley Kristen earned an offensive penalty corner to start the second period, but a strong hit off the stick of sophomore Alyssa Chillano was cleared by a diving Davies in goal. Stanford stepped up its effort on the defensive end, setting up an offensive possession that saw the squad break through for a penalty corner. The Cardinal was then able to cut the lead in half as Maddie Secco tipped in the direct hit at the 50:02 mark.

Blazing came up big again toward the end of regulation, helping the Blue Devils weather two Stanford penalty corners. However, the Cardinal's Fran Tew was able to split a pair of Duke defenders and score with just 32 seconds remaining to square the match at 2-2, effectively forcing overtime.

The two goalkeepers were challenged throughout much of the overtime period, with Blazing making two saves and Davies three inside the first seven minutes. The Blue Devils created another good opportunity with nine minutes left on the clock, but it was Stanford that would strike first, as Caroline Beaudoin broke away and found Casey Deeds in front of the cage for the gamewinner.

“We just have to be able to lock in and play it all the way through to the end,” Bustin said. “Both the goals we gave up in regulation were in the waning seconds and that's unacceptable and that's not how we play the game. It's something that we've got to address in practice as we get back on the field next week.”

The Cardinal outshot Duke 16-14 for the contest and placed all 16 of its looks on goal. Penalty corners were even at 3-3 after the 85 minutes of play.

Following their West Coast swing, the Blue Devils will hit the road again next weekend, traveling to the training center of the U.S. women's national field hockey team in Lancaster, Pa., for the ACC/BIG 10 Challenge. Duke will face Northwestern Friday, Sept. 4 at 7 p.m. before facing Maryland Sunday, Sept. 6 at 3 p.m.

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