Duke Falls to No. 9 Syracuse in ACC Quarterfinal

Thursday, November 4

Syracuse, NY

5 PM

Duke University

(6-11)

Syracuse University

(13-4)

Duke

Syracuse

Photo by: ACC Photography

Duke Falls to No. 9 Syracuse in ACC Quarterfinal

11/4/2021 8:09:00 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score BOX SCORE Photo Gallery

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Penalty corners were the story of the game as No. 2 seed Syracuse scored four goals off five penalty corners to hand the seventh-seeded Blue Devils a 5-1 loss in the ACC Field Hockey Championship quarterfinal Thursday evening at J.S. Coyne Stadium.

Syracuse jumped out to a 1-0 lead just 46 seconds into the game, earning a penalty corner on a pass that came from the Orange just outside the circle. Duke goalkeeper Piper Hampsch made the initial save of a Eefke Van Den Nieuwenhof shot, but the rebound landed right on the stick of SJ Quigley who put it into the back of the cage.

The Blue Devils settled into their game after the Orange's goal, having the better possession. Duke pressed forward well and kept the Orange on their heels, holding them went without a shot for nearly 10 minutes.

Duke nearly tied the game on a penalty corner midway through the opening quarter, but the ball bounced up off Lily Posternak's foot before she could tap it across the line.

Having escaped giving up the tying goal, Syracuse went right down the field and won its second penalty corner of the game. This time it was Willemijn Boogert tipping in a shot from Van Den Nieuwenhof for the 2-0 lead with 6:24 left in the half. The Orange tacked on a third goal from Hailey Bitters three minutes later for the 3-0 advantage.

Duke midfielder MaryKate Neff fired a pair of shots in the waning minutes, but Brooke Borzymowski made two saves to keep the Orange's lead at 3-0 after 15 minutes.

Syracuse had just one shot in the run of action in the first quarter as Duke kept the Orange out of the circle for much of it.

The trend continued in the second quarter as Duke controlled a lot of the play and kept the Orange offense at bay.

Blue Devil junior Hannah Miller put the Blue Devils on the scoreboard with 4:50 remaining as she beat a couple of Orange defenders on the short side and backhanded a shot into the roof of the net for her fourth goal of the season.

Hampsch came up big a couple of minutes later, making a sliding save. However, the ensuing penalty corner resulted in another Orange goal as Van Den Nieuwenhof snuck her shot under the foot of Hampsch for a 4-1 halftime lead.

The Blue Devils nearly made it a two-goal game in the third quarter, but a shot by Eva Nunnink off the penalty corner was ruled to be too high and was disallowed.

Duke kept the Orange to only two shots in the third quarter, but once again it was the penalty corner that proved to be the difference as Van Den Nieuwenhof fired one off the blocker of Hampsch for her second goal of the game and the 5-1 lead after three quarters.

Syracuse outshot the Blue Devils, 12-6, while both teams had five penalty corners. Hampsch finished the night with five saves and Borzymowski had three for the Orange.

Duke concludes the 2021 season with a 6-11 overall record, while the Orange advance to the ACC semifinals with a 13-4 mark.

#GoDuke