Kimel Announces 2017 Women?s Lacrosse Schedule

DURHAM, N.C. – The Duke women's lacrosse program, led by head coach Kerstin Kimel, released its 2017 schedule Thursday. The Blue Devils will play nine of their 16 contests this spring against teams selected to the 2016 NCAA Tournament field, including two of last year's semifinalists.

“We continue to take pride in our highly competitive and ambitious schedule as our 2017 slate of competition is amongst the nation's toughest,” Kimel said. “We are excited that our non-conference schedule includes top teams from the Big Ten, CAA, Ivy, Pac 12 and Patriot leagues who will challenge us both at home and on the road this spring.”

Duke will host eight games at Koskinen Stadium during the 2017 campaign, with the home schedule highlighted by tilts against ACC opponents North Carolina, Notre Dame, Syracuse and Virginia Tech. The team's eight road contests include a trip to Frisco, Texas to face Stanford, as well as an inaugural visit to St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia.

The 2017 Blue Devil squad makes its debut Jan. 29 in a scrimmage against Delaware in Durham. Duke officially kicks off the season a week later, welcoming Drexel Feb. 5 for the first of three straight home contests. The Blue Devils and the Dragons will clash for the first time in program history.

The home stand continues with a Feb. 10 contest against third-year program Furman and a Feb. 12 matchup with Navy. The first road trip of the season will take the team to Frisco, Texas, to play the Cardinal Feb. 18. It will mark the program's second appearance in the state of Texas following a Feb. 17, 2008 meeting against Stanford in Dallas. The contest will be held at the Dallas Cowboys' practice facility, The Star, as part of the 2017 Patriot Cup benefitting the HEADstrong Foundation.

Duke opens conference play Feb. 26 against Notre Dame in Koskinen Stadium and hosts Virginia Tech March 4. The squad then heads out for a five-game road swing beginning at Louisville March 11. Last year's regular season meeting with the Cardinals saw midfielder Maddie Crutchfield set a program record with six assists in a 16-5 Blue Devil victory.

The remainder of March will see Duke travel to Philadelphia for road contests at St. Joseph's on the 16th and Pennsylvania on the 18th, followed by a trip to Charlottesville, Va., on the 25th for a conference matchup against Virginia. Kimel's squad rounds out the month at nearby Elon in a midweek contest set for March 29.

The Blue Devils return to Durham April 2 to take on 2016 NCAA semifinalist Syracuse. Duke continues ACC play April 8 at Boston College before rounding out the regular season at home. The team welcomes Presbyterian College April 17 and hosts reigning national champion North Carolina for Senior Day at Koskinen Stadium April 22.

“Our ACC schedule is just awesome as our counterparts are all poised to have tremendous seasons,” Kimel said. “There is no better way to grow and improve than competing in what is arguably the best conference in the country. I am confident that ACC play will not only serve to inspire our players but will undoubtedly prepare us for lofty postseason expectations as well.”

Duke begins the postseason at the 2017 ACC Championship, slated for April 27-30 at Sports Backers Stadium in Richmond, Va.

Following a 2016 season that saw the Blue Devils notch an 11-9 record and wrap up the year at No. 11 in the final national poll, Duke will be in pursuit of the program's 20th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance this spring. The team returns 29 letterwinners and eight starters in 2017, including a pair of All-America selections in Crutchfield and attacker Kyra Harney.

For 2017 ticket information, visit GoDuke.com/tickets or call (919) 681-BLUE.

DATE	OPPONENT	LOCATION	VENUE	TIME
Sunday, Jan. 29	Delaware (Scrimmage)	Durham, N.C.	Koskinen Stadium	12 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 5	Drexel	Durham, N.C.	Koskinen Stadium	12 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 10	Furman	Durham, N.C.	Koskinen Stadium	3 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 12	Navy	Durham, N.C.	Koskinen Stadium	11 a.m.
Saturday, Feb. 18	Stanford	Frisco, Texas	The Star	4 p.m. CT
Sunday, Feb. 26	Notre Dame *	Durham, N.C.	Koskinen Stadium	12 p.m.
Staurday, March 4	Virginia Tech *	Durham, N.C..	Koskinen Stadium	1 p.m.
Saturday, March 11	Louisville *	Louisville, Ky.	UofL Lacrosse Stadium	12 p.m.
Thursday, March 16	St. Joseph's	Philadelphia, Pa.	Sean Sweeney Field	3 p.m.
Saturday, March 18	Pennsylvania	Philadelphia, Pa.	Franklin Field	1 p.m.
Saturday, March 25	Virginia *	Charlottesville, Va.	Klöckner Stadium	1 p.m.
Wednesday, March 29	Elon	Elon, N.C.	Rudd Field	6 p.m.
Sunday, April 2	Syracuse *	Durham, N.C.	Koskinen Stadium	1 p.m.
Saturday, April 8	Boston College *	Newton, Mass.	Newton Campus Lacrosse & Soccer Field	1 p.m.
Saturday, April 15	Northwestern	Evanston, Ill.	Lanny and Sharon Martin Stadium	3:30 p.m. CT
Monday, April 17	Presbyterian	Durham, N.C.	Koskinen Stadium	6 p.m.
Saturday, April 22	North Carolina *	Durham, N.C.	Koskinen Stadium	1 p.m.
Thurs-Sun, Apr 27-30	ACC Tournament	Richmond, Va.	Sports Backers Stadium	TBA