Field Hockey Blanks No. 13 Liberty, 4-0

Sunday, August 28

Durham, N.C.

1:00 PM

Duke University

Liberty

Field Hockey Blanks No. 13 Liberty, 4-0

8/28/2016 3:28:00 PM | Field Hockey

FH vs. Liberty: Alyssa Chillano Postgame INT FH vs. Liberty: Sammi Steele Postgame INT FH vs. Liberty: Pam Bustin Postgame INT FH Highlights: Duke 4, Liberty 0 Photos: Duke 4, Liberty 0 Season Statistics Box Score

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. – After playing through a scoreless first period against No. 13 Liberty, the Blue Devils broke through for four second-half scores in a 4-0 shutout of the Flames Sunday at Williams Field at Jack Katz Stadium. Fourth-ranked Duke finished its opening weekend of play 2-0 following an 8-4 victory over William & Mary Friday.

Anchored by sophomore Sammi Steele in goal, the Blue Devils put together a solid defensive performance to go along with another strong outing on attack. Head coach Pam Bustin's squad tallied two of its four goals on the day on penalty corner opportunities to top its first ranked opponent of the season.

“I'm really pleased with the final score line against a very good opponent,” Bustin said. “It was a good opportunity to get out there and still work on some of the things that Duke field hockey is striving to achieve. We were able to generate some great attack that we've been working on and some different combinations. We didn't come out with any of the results in the first half, but I was really proud of how the team regrouped and stayed on task, and went out there in the second half and just continued to do what we were doing. Nobody tried to do anything harder or better – we just needed to connect and finish.”

Both teams generated multiple corners within the first 10 minutes of the contest, but the match would remain scoreless through the end of the half despite some dangerous opportunities. Duke fought off five first-half set pieces by the Flames, while Liberty goalkeeper Allison Schaefer totaled five stops at the other end.

The Blue Devils rounded out the period with an 8-5 advantage in shots.

Graduate student Aisling Naughton started off the second half with a good run to the goal, setting up an Alyssa Chillano score on a penalty corner. Senior Robin Blazing and freshman Margaux Paolino provided the assists as Duke broke the scoreless tie in the 44th minute.

“We've been working on our attack penalty corners a lot the past week and all preseason, so it's been great to finish on those this year so far,” Chillano said.

Keeping momentum on their end, the Blue Devils capitalized in transition a short while later, with Heather Morris firing a hard strike on a pass from Erin Scherrer that made it 2-0. Less than two minutes later, Naughton found sophomore forward Rose Tynan in transition, and Tynan finished from five yards in front of the cage.

“We want to play faster, and that's something that's been a two, three-year process,” Bustin said. “We're looking to turn forward, which is good. We have some great finishers on this team. Again, it's just a matter of finding the team rhythm and finding the connections and expecting the ball, and then having the composure to finish it.”

The Flames called a timeout midway through the period, but Duke would find the back of the cage again in the 60th minute when Caroline Andretta tipped in a ball from Chillano on a corner play.

The Blue Devil defense held strong the rest of the way to earn the team's first clean sheet of the season.

Duke placed 16 of its 25 shots on the day on goal, while Liberty finished with 11 shots but just two on cage. The Flames recorded eight corners to seven by the Blue Devils.

Schaefer had 12 saves in goal for Liberty and Steele two for Duke.

Up next, the Blue Devils travel to the home of USA Field Hockey in Lancaster, Pa., to face Maryland and Northwestern in the B1G/ACC Cup. Duke takes on the Terrapins Friday at 7 p.m., followed by an 11 a.m. matchup with the Wildcats Sunday.

#GoDuke