Flashback: Duke Wins Defensive Battle with Princeton, Earns Seventh Final Four Berth

In what would be the 2020 NCAA Women's Lacrosse Tournament, GoDuke.com chose to take this opportunity to highlight Duke's seven Final Four teams – 1999, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011 and 2015.

The 2015 Duke women's lacrosse team overcame a defensive battle with No. 11 Princeton at Koskinen Stadium on May 16, 2015 to reach the program's seventh NCAA Semifinal appearance.

The 2015 season started red-hot for the Blue Devils. Duke opened the season 9-0 and stayed in the top-10 of the IWLCA rankings throughout the season. Entering the NCAA Tournament, Duke was 14-4 overall and ranked tabbed the No. 5 team in the country.

"I think we did a really good job of letting that give us confidence but not taking the next game lightly," Taylor Harding, formerly Taylor Trimble, said. "We just had a really good perspective and chemistry, the team as a whole and our senior class, too."

Princeton v Duke. NCAA quarterfinal. Duke won 7-3. Koskinen Stadium. Durham, NC. May 16, 2015.(Jon Gardiner/Duke Photography)

Princeton v Duke. NCAA quarterfinal. Duke won 7-3. Koskinen Stadium. Durham, NC. May 16, 2015.(Jon Gardiner/Duke Photography)

The team was led by a strong senior class, motivated by coming up just short in the NCAA quarterfinals the previous three seasons. This year was a bit different. Duke had played a strong year to set themselves up for a NCAA quarterfinal in Koskinen Stadium.

"Our team was a pretty veteran team to begin with, we had a ton of upperclassmen on the field," Harding said. "We were just an older, more mature team. But, when it came down to our class, we always joked that we were so different, especially off the field through what we studied, how we spent our free time, etc. But, with lacrosse, we were extremely united. The chemistry within our class was really strong."

"I knew that the group was a special group," then-senior Katie Trees said. "Particularly, we had a really strong senior class. We knew coming into the preseason that this year was a year that we could go all the way, just given the total talent on the team."

In addition to the internal motivation, the senior-led team also gained inspiration from Duke women's lacrosse head coach Kerstin Kimel as she battled cancer throughout the 2015 season. Going into the year, Kimel gathered her senior class and shared the news of what she was going through off the field.

"That added a whole other element to why we wanted to win," Trees reflected. "Personally, she is one of the most inspiring women that I ever had the pleasure of being coached by. Having that terrible news delivered to the team, added motivation to not only win because of the talent but also wanting to do that for our coach who was going through so much at the time. That added a sentimental component to the season that was pretty special."

"She said there might be days where she wouldn't be at practice and in that moment we were thinking, 'Of course, we got it,'" Harding remembered. "Looking back, she didn't miss anything. It truly is amazing what she did throughout that season and all that she had outside of that, being a mom and raising kids. I vividly remember us being super focused on making sure she was okay and then it immediately switched to what our goal is. It took on a whole new meaning."

Duke glided through the first round of the NCAA Tournament by topping Southern California, 17-9, a couple days before. Senior Karen Maurer and Trees led the team with six points, each. Maruer scored four goals and tallied two assists in that game while Trees dished four assists and scored two goals.

Although scoring 17 goals just a week before, the game against Princeton was very different. It was a hot Durham day and turned out to be a defensive battle. Princeton scored first less than three minutes in but Duke quickly answered a few minutes later at 22:14. The Blue Devils scored two more to close out the half and take a 3-1 lead into the half.

"On the offensive end, we knew we had to make every possession count because Princeton had the ability to go on runs," Maurer, now an assistant coach at Princeton, said. "We had to make sure we took advantage of the possessions we had. It was always a good feeling when the defense would get a stop and the ball would come our way for us to capitalize on their hard work. I remember that game as one of the biggest defensive battles of my career."

Kyra Harney scored at 26:22 in the second half after Princeton scored 37 seconds in to open the period. Harney's goal proved to be the Duke game winner, giving Duke a 4-2 lead. The Blue Devils and Princeton traded goals over the next few minutes to make it 5-3.

Princeton v Duke. NCAA quarterfinal. Duke won 7-3. Koskinen Stadium. Durham, NC. May 16, 2015.(Jon Gardiner/Duke Photography)

Duke held Princeton scoreless the final 22 minutes of the game and added two more to the cause via a Erin Tenneson assist to Maurer at 15:26. Harding topped off the Duke win with a score with nine seconds remaining.

"I got the ball and remember thinking, 'I'm putting this in the back of the net,' like a nail in the coffin," Harding reflected. "It was one of those things that opened and happened quickly, but it felt good, knowing that we were going to the Final Four."

Duke walked away with the 7-3 victory. The Blue Devils held the Tigers to just three goals on the season, their lowest scoring output that year.

"The biggest memory I have was just when the final whistle went and the sideline rushed onto the field, knowing that we were headed for the Final Four and how special that was," Maurer said. "The whole game kind of feels like a blur, but I remember that moment in particular."

#GoDuke

Flashback: Duke Wins Defensive Battle with Princeton, Earns Seventh Final Four Berth

Related News

Related Videos

Duke information