Late Goals Lift Blue Devils Over Northwestern, 2-1

Friday, September 4

Lancaster, Pa.

7:00 PM

Duke University

Northwestern

Late Goals Lift Blue Devils Over Northwestern, 2-1

9/4/2015 9:48:00 PM | Field Hockey

By: Duke Sports Information

LANCASTER, Pa. – Fifth-ranked Duke turned in a solid defensive effort and scored twice inside the final 10 minutes to top No. 10 Northwestern, 2-1, in B1G/ACC Cup action Friday evening at the Spooky Nook Sports Complex. The Blue Devils moved to 2-1 on the season ahead of Sunday's series finale against third-ranked Maryland.

“I'm really proud of the way our defense hung in there, and of their consistency from the top to the end,” said head coach Pam Bustin. “Northwestern's defense certainly gave us a huge challenge on generating attack, but most importantly finishing our attack. I thought our persistence and our 'stay with it' mentality paid off. For us to be able to keep that intensity up the way we did for the 70 minutes, I'm really happy and proud of them.”

The teams traded penalty corner opportunities early in the first half but neither side was able to break through. Possession was even for much of the period, with the Blue Devils bringing a lot of pressure in their attacking third during the waning minutes. However, the match remained scoreless at the intermission with Duke leading in shots during the first 35 minutes, 8-2.

Northwestern drew four penalty corners inside the first five minutes of the second period, but redshirt senior goalkeeper Lauren Blazing helped the defense negate all four opportunities. The contest remained scoreless into the 50th minute despite some solid tackles by the Blue Devils – particularly sophomores Alyssa Chillano and Sarah Furey – that generated offensive possessions.

Duke imposed a quick tempo in the final minutes to win several 50/50 balls. The relentless attack paid off, as senior midfielder Aileen Johnson was able to break away from her defender and drill home a shot from the top of the circle. Her strike broke the scoreless tie at the 65:16 mark, and was her first tally of the season.

The Blue Devils continued to press forward after the Wildcats pulled keeper Lindsa von der Luft from the cage with 3:39 left on the clock. Sophomore Ashley Kristen then found fellow forward Robin Blazing in front of the cage to push the squad's lead to two. The goal was Blazing's first of her career.

“We learned a lot from that overtime match [at Stanford], and our mentality is that we want to stay in the moment and stay in the play," Bustin said. "They really did that today. Waiting a long time to get the game started, I think they got themselves in a good place to come out strong and finish strong against a great opponent.”

Northwestern was able to get one back with just 28 seconds remaining, as Isabel Flens fired from the edge of the circle. However, that score would hold in Duke's favor until the final whistle, preserving the 2-1 victory.

For the contest, the Blue Devils held a 15-6 advantage in shots and recorded seven penalty corners to six by the Wildcats.

Lauren Blazing notched three saves in the winning effort while von der Luft had four for Northwestern.

Duke returns to the Nook Sunday to take on the Terrapins at 3 p.m. Live stats will be available for the B1G/ACC Cup contest.

#GoDuke