Second Half Play Pushes Duke Past Columbia, 11-7

Wednesday, March 16

New York, N.Y.

4:00 PM

Duke University

Columbia

Second Half Play Pushes Duke Past Columbia, 11-7

3/16/2016 6:45:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

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By: Duke Sports Information

NEW YORK – The 13th-ranked Blue Devils gutted out their third road win of the season, overcoming a two-goal halftime deficit to defeat Columbia, 11-7, Wednesday at Robert K. Kraft Field.

Senior Kelci Smesko totaled a game-high four goals and sophomore Kyra Harney added three while senior goalkeeper Kelsey Duryea and the defensive unit kept the Lions (2-4) off the board for the final 20 minutes in the win. Duke outdrew Columbia in the second half behind the efforts of freshman Olivia Jenner and junior Maura Schwitter.

Duryea and Columbia's Kelsey Gedin kept the game scoreless until sophomore Maddie Crutchfield converted a free position opportunity seven minutes in. The Lions responded with a matching goal from the eight-meter before Crutchfield added her second to put the Blue Devils in front, 2-1.

After Duke took each of the first three draws, the Lions secured the next two and knotted up the score again on a second free position goal. Duryea's third save of the contest set up Smesko tally but the teams continued to swap scores as Columbia's Jessie Ambrose put away the home team's third from the eight meter.

The Lions capitalized on Duke turnovers to add two more markers before the end of the period, giving the squad a 5-3 advantage at the intermission.

“I'm happy that we refocused and kind of got ourselves together and played the way we're capable of playing, at the pace and tempo – and with a little bit of toughness on defense – that we're capable of playing,” said head coach Kerstin Kimel. “We re-emphasized our offensive game plan. We did make some changes defensively that I thought worked out better, put us in a position to play a little bit better team defense.”

After Columbia tacked on its fourth free position goal early in the second half, Smesko snapped a 17-minute scoring drought and Harney followed soon after with three-straight tallies to put the Blue Devils back in front at 7-6. The four-goal run by Duke took just over three minutes off the clock.

Sophomore Grace Fallon continued the offensive burst before Lindsey Ewetsen of the Lions answered at the 19:49 mark. The teams then traded tallies, with Duryea's eighth save setting up Stuart Humphrey on the other end. That gave the Blue Devils their largest lead at 10-7.

Duryea and the defense held Columbia without a goal for the rest of the period and Smesko added a final score around the two-minute mark to ensure the victory.

“We need to just keep building on our confidence and keep building on our play,” Duryea said. “Anything we can learn from is really important for us. Clearly we weren't perfect today but there were strides in the right direction, so just building off of that.”

Duke outshot the Lions by a 25-17 margin and held a 15-13 edge in ground balls. Draw controls were even at 10-all while the teams combined for 24 turnovers on the day.

Duryea rounded out the contest with eight saves to 11 by Gedin at the other end. Offensively, Columbia was led by Ambrose, Taylor Quinn and Ewertsen, who notched two goals each in the loss.

Duke's road swing continues Saturday with a 12 p.m. contest at Villanova. The non-conference game will be broadcast here.

#GoDuke