No. 13 Duke Tops Villanova, 7-4, in Defensive Battle

Saturday, March 19

Villanova, Pa.

12:00 PM

Duke University

Villanova

No. 13 Duke Tops Villanova, 7-4, in Defensive Battle

3/19/2016 2:26:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

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By: Duke Sports Information

VILLANOVA, Pa. – The 13th-ranked Duke women's lacrosse team turned in another strong defensive performance to anchor a 7-4 non-conference victory over Villanova Saturday at Villanova Stadium. The Blue Devils moved to 7-4 overall with the win and 4-0 in road contests.

Senior goalkeeper Kelsey Duryea totaled four saves in the net while the defense – led by performances from senior Claire Scarrone and junior Isabelle Montagne – limited two of the Wildcats' top scorers to just one goal on the day.

“I was really proud of our defense,” said head coach Kerstin Kimel. “Villanova has a lot of offensive threats and I thought we did a really good job of limiting what they were trying to do. Between Izzy's steady play on their top offensive threat, number 40 [Jackie Froccaro], to Kelsey having another strong day in the cage and Claire Scarrone, quite honestly, doing an awesome job on their number 39 [Meghan Breen], who is a big facilitator. I was really happy with how tough we played them in the field, but we have to get better moving forward.”

Sophomore midfielder Maddie Crutchfield headlined the Duke attack with a game-high four points. She collected her third hat trick of the season and senior attacker Emma Lazaroff matched her career-high with two tallies.

The Wildcats (1-8) took each of the first two draws to open up with a 2-0 advantage until Lazaroff broke through on a feed from Crutchfield. Untimely turnovers cost Duke opportunities on offense but the squad received back-to-back tallies from Kyra Harney and Crutchfield to take its first lead. The defensive unit held Villanova scoreless for the final 21:12 of the period to help the Blue Devils remain in front, 3-2, at the intermission.

Sophomore Grace Fallon fired a goal just over a minute into the second half and Crutchfield added one from the eight-meter as Duke quickly made it a 5-2 contest. The Wildcats trimmed the margin back to two on a Chelsey Henderson marker but turnovers continued to be a factor for both sides. A Paige Russell caused turnover midway through the half set up Lazaroff's second score of the day, with senior Kelci Smesko notching the assist.

Duryea made a key save around the eight-minute mark to prevent a Villanova goal in transition but the Wildcats struck coming out of a timeout to cut the score to 6-4. The Blue Devils capped a long offensive possession with Crutchfield's third tally and the defense ran out the clock for the three-goal victory.

The teams combined for 29 turnovers, with Duke accounting for nine caused turnovers and Villanova six.

“It was hard to get in a rhythm with the ball back and forth so much,” Kimel said. “I was really happy with how we created with some really tough play through the midfield and between the 30s. I thought we did a great job of making it hard for them to get the ball up the field, and we put some good pressure on them in the second half.”

The Wildcats held a 17-16 edge in shots and led at the draw, 8-4, while the Blue Devils won the ground ball battle by a 14-11 margin. Fallon led the way with a career-high three ground balls, and Scarrone, Crutchfield and freshman Ellie Majure scooped up two each.

Villanova's Kelsey Denihan finished with two goals to lead all Wildcat players.

The Blue Devils return home to host ACC opponent Virginia next Saturday, March 23 at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN3. The weekend marks Alumnae Recognition Weekend at Koskinen, with all former Duke women's lacrosse players being honored at halftime of the game against the Cavaliers. For more information, visit goduke.com/wlax20th.

--- NOTES ---

- With two draw controls, freshman Olivia Jenner surpassed former Blue Devil Emma Hamm for the program's freshman record. Hamm recorded 51 draws in her rookie season in 2008, and Jenner has 52 through 11 games this spring.

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