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No. 2 Duke Plays No. 5 Maryland in Home Opener Saturday
Durham, N.C. - No. 2 Duke will look for their third straight win to start the season when they square off against No. 5 Maryland in their home opener Saturday at 12 p.m.
The Game: No. 2 Duke (2-0) will play their home and ACC opener on Saturday when No. 5 Maryland (2-1) comes to Durham for a showdown between two top-five teams at 12 p.m. The Blue Devils are coming off an 18-8 victory over No. 18 Richmond while the Terps defeated George Mason 13-6 on Wednesday.
Series History: Maryland leads the all-time series between the two schools, 8-4. However, Duke Head Coach Kerstin Kimel has won two straight meetings against her alma mater, including a 10-7 victory on the road last year and a 9-7 win at home in 2004.
Last Meeting: The last time the Blue Devils and Terps met came last season when No. 4 Duke traveled College Park and defeated No. 7 Maryland 10-7. The Blue Devils had a big first half, scoring seven goals while holding the Terps to one. Maryland came back in the second half and outscored Duke 6-3 but it was not enough for a victory. Katie Chrest led Duke with four goals and an assist while Leigh Jester scored a goal and assisted on two others. Megan Huether had a big day in net with 14 saves.
Last Time Out: Duke improved to 2-0 on the year with a road win at No. 18 Richmond. The Blue Devils outscored the Spiders 9-4 in both halves. With the score tied 3-3, Katie Chrest keyed a 4-0 run with two goals as Duke took the lead. Chrest finished with six goals, the second most in Duke’s history. Kristen Waagbo recorded three goals and two assists while Rachel Sanford tallied three goals and one assist to go along with five caused turnovers.
Maryland: The Terps are 2-1 to start the season with the lone loss coming to No. 1 Northwestern, 13-8, in the season opener. Maryland bounced back with a 12-3 victory over Ohio and a 13-6 win against George Mason. Last year they were 12-7 and lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. They also lost seven starters from that team. Delia Cox leads this year’s squad with nine goals and six assists. Allie Buote has allowed 21 goals with 21 saves in three starts in net.
Points Leader: Kristen Waagbo, a junior from Ellicott City, Md., is currently the leader in points for the Blue Devils with 11. She is tied for the team lead with four assists and is second with seven goals. She had four goals and two assists in the season opener at Longwood. She followed with a three goal, two assist performance at Richmond. She now has 120 points in her career with 76 goals and 44 assists.
Treasure Chrest: Katie Chrest, a senior from Hampstead, Md., tied Duke’s career goals record at 161 with her six goals against Richmond on Sunday. She tied Tricia Martin for the school record. Chrest also needs 23 total points to tie Martin for the career points record.
Helping Hand: Katie Chrest and Kristen Waagbo both rank among the top five in Duke history in career assists. Chrest is in fourth and is one assist shy of third on the all-time list, currently held by Lauren Gallagher with 53. Chrest is 23 away from Tricia Martin’s record. Waagbo tallied a pair of assists in each of the first two games to give her 44 for her career, eight behind Chrest.
Huether’s Saves: Megan Huether, a senior from Lutherville, Md., has been one of the best goalkeepers in the history of Duke Women’s Lacrosse. She holds school records for career and season minutes. She his third all-time in save percentage, stopping 53.5-percent of the opponent’s shots on goal. She only allowed nine goals while recording 12 saves in the first two games of the season. Her 12 saves gives her 512 for her career. She is now 56 saves shy of tying Shannon Chaney for the school record.
Tewaaraton Preseason Watch List: Three Blue Devils were named to the Tewaaraton Trophy preseason watch list. Katie Chrest, the reigning recipient of the award for national player of the year, made the list along with Megan Huether and Rachel Sanford. Huether won the C. Markland Kelly Award for national goalie of the year and Sanford was a second team All-America choice in 2005.
Preseason All-Americas: Four Blue Devils were named to the Inside Lacrosse preseason All-America teams in 2006. Katie Chrest, the reigning Tewaaraton Trophy winner as National Player of the Year, and Rachel Sanford, a second team All-America as a freshman last season, were each named to the first team. Megan Huether, the 2005 National Goalie of the Year, was named to the second team and Kristen Waagbo, Duke’s second leading scorer last season was picked to the third team.
Fresh Start: Carolyn Davis, a freshman from Skaneateles, N.Y., got off to a good start in her collegiate career with three goals and four assists against Longwood in the season opener. In comparison, current juniors Michelle Menser (4G, 1A) and Kristen Waagbo (2G, 3A) each had five points in their first college game against UMBC in 2004. Katie Chrest had three goals and one assist against Virginia Tech in her 2003 debut.
Kerstin Kimel: Duke’s Head Coach Kerstin Kimel has been with the program since the beginnin, leading the Blue Devils to a record of 115-65 (.639) since its inception in 1996. She has led Duke to two final fours and eight straight trips to the NCAA Tournament. Last year she guided the team to its first ever ACC Championship. She has been tabbed ACC Coach of the Year on four occasions, winning the award in 1998, sharing the title in 2000 and garnering the honor in each of the past two seasons.
