Blue Devils Drop Overtime Thriller to Irish, 10-9

Saturday, April 16

Notre Dame, Ind.

12:00 PM

Duke University

Notre Dame

Blue Devils Drop Overtime Thriller to Irish, 10-9

4/16/2016 3:24:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

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By: Duke Sports Information

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Duke's defense turned in another hallmark performance but the Blue Devils were unable to hold off a late charge by seventh-ranked Notre Dame, dropping a 10-9 overtime thriller Saturday at Arlotta Stadium.

Thirteenth-ranked Duke held a 9-7 lead into the final minutes but the Irish tied up the contest with 18 seconds remaining and prevailed in sudden victory overtime. With the loss, the Blue Devils fell to 9-6 overall and 4-2 in ACC action.

Senior goalkeeper Kelsey Duryea recorded 13 saves and anchored a defense that held Notre Dame (11-4, 4-3 ACC) without a score for two spans of 15 minutes or more. In addition, the Irish were limited to 10 or fewer goals for just the third time on the spring.

Duryea and the defensive unit withstood a pair of early tests from the Irish, allowing Duke to strike first on a Maddie Crutchfield tally in traffic. Notre Dame controlled the first five draws but the teams traded scores until the Blue Devils pulled ahead, 4-2, on consecutive goals by senior Kelci Smesko and sophomore Kyra Harney.

Possession went back and forth, with Duke's defense keeping the Irish off the board for a 19-minute stretch. The attack capitalized on the momentum, as senior Maddy Acton converted on a man-up opportunity and assisted Crutchfield a short while later for a 6-2 advantage.

Notre Dame's Cortney Fortunato added a marker inside the final two minutes of the period to make it a three-goal game at the intermission.

Duryea and the defense opened the second half the same way they started the first, but four-straight Irish goals gave the home squad its first lead at 7-6. Harney responded by snapping the scoreless span for the Blue Devils, and freshman Olivia Jenner followed with a tally in transition to swing it to 8-7 in Duke's favor. A second Jenner score put it back at a two-goal game with 13:17 remaining.

Another strong defensive sequence prevented the Irish from finding the back of the net for nearly 16 minutes until Casey Pearsall broke through. Notre Dame's Fortunato capitalized on a Duke turnover to tie the game at 9-all with 18.8 seconds remaining.

Jenner won the final draw of the period but the Blue Devils were unable to fire a shot before the horn, sending the contest to overtime.

Duke claimed the first draw in overtime but a turnover resulted in Rachel Sexton of the Irish firing the game-winner just over two minutes in.

For the contest, Notre Dame outshot the Blue Devils by a 34-21 margin, including a 17-8 differential in the second half and overtime period. The Irish also won the ground ball battle, 22-17, while Duke held an 11-10 edge at the draw. The Blue Devils committed 17 turnovers to 12 by Notre Dame.

Crutchfield, Harney, Smesko and Jenner all recorded multiple tallies, with Crutchfield also dishing two assists.

Sexton and Fortunato both turned in hat tricks to pace the Irish attack, and goalkeeper Samantha Giacolone finished with seven saves.

The Blue Devils round out the regular season next weekend, making the short trip to nearby Chapel Hill, N.C., to face North Carolina Saturday, April 23 at 2 p.m. The contest will be broadcast on ESPN3.

--- NOTES ---

- Sophomore Kyra Harney became the 25th player in program history to reach the 100-point mark for her career. She accomplished the feat with her second goal of the afternoon, joining senior Kelci Smesko as the only current Blue Devils to reach the milestone.
- Sophomore Grace Fallon registered her fourth-straight game with at least one assist. She owns 12 for the season to rank fourth on the squad.
- Senior goalkeeper Kelsey Duryea notched her sixth game of the season with double-digit saves.
- Duke played an overtime contest for the first time on the season.

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