No. 15 Duke Tripped Up By Harvard, 14-12

Tuesday, March 17

Durham, N.C.

5 PM

Duke University

6-4

Harvard

2-5

Harvard

Duke

Photo by: Nat LeDonne / Duke Athletics

No. 15 Duke Tripped Up By Harvard, 14-12

3/17/2026 9:19:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

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DURHAM, N.C. – Redshirt junior Ava Biancardi scored four goals and freshman Quinn Whitaker netted three of her own, but it wasn't enough as No. 15 Duke (6-4, 3-2 ACC) dropped a 14-12 decision to Harvard (2-5, 0-2 Ivy League) in non-conference women's lacrosse action Tuesday night at Freeman Field at Koskinen Stadium.

Sophomore Avery Doran notched two markers to reach the 50 career goals milestone, while junior Bella Goodwin and sophomores Mabel Overbeck and Kaitlin Robinson each scored one. Redshirt junior Eva Pronti matched her season high with five assists to lead the distribution efforts. Junior Ellie White had a solid night at the draw circle, finishing the game with eight draw controls.

Defensively, sophomore Mabel Overbeck registered a career-high four caused turnovers, with classmate Amanda Paci adding three of her own to surpass 50 caused turnovers for her career. Graduate student McKenzie Olsen and redshirt freshman Hope Schoudel each finished with a team-high three ground balls, with Schoudel also collecting nine saves on the night.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Harvard jumped to an early three-goal lead, but the Blue Devils responded with three straight tallies of their own to deadlock the score at 3-3 after 15 minutes of play.
Two of Duke's first quarter goals came via Biancardi – the markers assisted by Goodwin and Pronti, respectively. Doran also found the back of the cage with her tally at the 5:17 mark coming off Pronti's feed.
Harvard opened the second period with a pair of goals in the first three minutes to reclaim a 5-3 edge. Doran got one back for the home team with 10:19 to play, notching her 50th career goal off Biancardi's dime to pull the Blue Devils within one.
After two more tallies by the visitors pushed the margin back to three, Overbeck snapped Duke's scoring drought with just over two minutes to play in the opening half. The sophomore raced down the field and found a bit of space before rocketing a shot past the Crimson goalie for her first goal of the year.
The visitors found the back of the net a minute into the third period, then added another goal just past the midway point of the stanza to push their advantage to four.
The Blue Devils continued to battle and delivered a counterpunch of their own, scoring four straight to level the score at 9-9. Biancardi and Whitaker were the catalysts during the run with the pair notching two goals apiece.
A late Crimson goal with just under a minute remaining in the third halted the Duke momentum, however, giving them a 10-9 edge heading into the final period.
Duke grabbed its first lead of the game, 11-10, after registering a pair of goals early in the fourth. Stafford connected with Goodwin for a score 44 seconds in, then Robinson cashed in her first collegiate goal at the 10:51 mark to put the home team in front by one.
Consecutive tallies regained a one-goal edge for the Crimson coming up on the midway point of the stanza.
Duke had an answer once again, with Whitaker's third goal of the contest (7:15) leveling the score at 12-12.
Harvard broke the tie a minute later with a man-up goal before pushing its cushion to two with just under four minutes to play.
The Blue Devils made a last-ditch effort as they searched for the equalizers, but a couple late turnovers and a card sealed the victory for the visitors.

NOTES:

Duke falls to 6-4 overall, while Harvard improves to 2-5 on the year.
The all-time series between the Blue Devils and Crimson is now tied 1-1.
Ava Biancardi recorded her fifth consecutive hat trick and now owns six on the year. The Northport, New York, standout has scored 19 goals over her last five games.
Quinn Whitaker posted her sixth hat trick of the year and the third in the last four games. The rookie has found the back of the cage 24 times this season and currently ranks 15th on the Duke freshman charts.
With her two goals against Harvard, Avery Doran reached the 50 career goals benchmark. She scored 23 during her freshman season at Brown and currently has 27 as a Blue Devil.
Kaitlin Robinson scored her first career goal as a Blue Devil with her strike at the 10:51 mark of the third quarter.
Amanda Paci tallied three caused turnovers to eclipse 50 for her career.
Mabel Overbeck recorded a career high four caused turnovers.
Eva Pronti dished out five assists, matching a season high.

UP NEXT:
No. 15 Duke plays its next three games away from the Bull City, starting with a trip to Blacksburg, Virginia, for a Mar. 21 tilt against the Hokies. Opening draw is set for noon and the game will stream live on ACCNX.

For more information on Duke women's lacrosse, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "DukeWLAX."

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