Early Goal the Difference in 1-0 Setback to No. 4 Louisville

Friday, September 24

Durham, N.C.

6 P.M.

Duke University

(3-5, 0-2)

Louisville

(8-1, 2-0)

Louisville

Duke

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Early Goal the Difference in 1-0 Setback to No. 4 Louisville

9/24/2021 9:22:00 PM | Field Hockey

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DURHAM, N.C.—Fourth-ranked Louisville scored three minutes into the game and held off the 18th-ranked Blue Devils for the remaining 57 minutes to hand Duke a 1-0 loss in field hockey action Friday night on Williams Field at Jack Katz Stadium. Duke sophomore goalkeeper Piper Hampsch made seven saves in the setback.

The Cardinals earned a penalty corner on their first foray into the circle. Alli Bitting stepped up to the endline to insert the ball for stopper Charlie Van Oirschot. Julie Kouijzer stepped right into the shot and knocked it directly into the left side of the cage for the 1-0 lead.

The Blue Devils, faced with an early deficit, settled in and earned their first corner less than 10 minutes later. Senior Leah Crouse took a pass off the corner and put it on cage only to be denied by Louisville keeper Mila de Kuijer with a kick save.

Hampsch made three saves in the final eight minutes of the period to keep the Cardinals, who were averaging 2.50 goals per game, off the board.

Duke (3-5, 0-2) had the better of possession in the second quarter and put immense pressure on Louisville in its defensive half. However, the Blue Devils were unable to capitalize despite controlling much of the play.

"I thought in the first half we were a little bit too frantic in our attack," said head coach Pam Bustin. "We weren't settled in it where we can calmly come together and finish it. I thought the second half we were better at that. We just didn't create as many of those opportunities. We had great possession, but we didn't have many scoring opportunities."

The Blue Devils held Louisville without a shot in the second quarter, while firing two of their own.

Duke continued to search for the equalizer in the second half, but couldn't crack the nation's fourth-ranked defense. The Blue Devils earned a penalty corner in the third quarter and had one shot in the fourth period.

The best chance of the night came off a fantastic save and clearance from Hampsch. The sophomore backstop knocked the ball away and Duke quickly moved the ball down the field on a counterattack. However, the final pass into the circle was just a touch too heavy as it rolled past the outstretched stick of Lexi Davidson and over the end line back to Louisville.

"I was really pleased in how [Piper Hampsch] became more aggressive and not in a reckless way," Bustin said. "Her clears started some fastbreaks for us. She was on the ball early, which I was really happy about. We'll make some adjustments on the corner and I think we did make adjustments at the second period for her to stretch out on those balls that are being hit straight. She did a nice job."

Louisville held a 9-5 edge in shots and a 7-2 advantage in penalty corners. The penalty corner goal was just the fourth Duke has allowed on 52 corners this season. De Kuijer made one save for the shutout.

Duke is right back in action Sunday at William & Mary. First hit is set for 1 p.m., in Williamsburg, Va.

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