Feb. 15, 2008

Davis & Cryer Combine For 11 Points To Lead No. 3 Duke To Victory

The Duke women's lacrosse team opened the 2008 season on a positive note Friday night, picking up a 16-11 win in Koskinen Stadium over No. 16 Denver. A strong second half in which the Blue Devils opened with five straight goals and outscored the Pioneers, 9-5, made the difference on the evening. The game can be seen on-demand on ACCSelect.com.

Duke went down 2-0 and 4-2 in the early going, and three yellow cards in the first four minutes did not help matters as a player is required to sit for three minutes after being given a card. Also looming was the possibility of having to go down a player if a fourth card was issued at any point in the game. However, the Blue Devils remained card-free the rest of the way.

The Blue Devils stayed in the hunt in the first half mainly on the offensive strength of four freshmen: midfielders Sarah Bullard and Emma Hamm and attackers Christie Kaestner and Morgan Miller. The quartet combined for Duke's first four goals and finished with a combined five goals and three assists. Hamm led the group with a goal, three dishes, four ground balls and two caused turnovers.

The game was knotted 4-4 and Duke would go down 5-4 before tying the match with 3:30 left to play in the first stanza on senior attacker Caroline Cryer's first goal and point of the season. From that point on the Devils would not trail again. Cryer would go on to score another goal and assist on three more, including two late in the game to help put it away.

After taking a 7-6 lead into the locker room, Duke stormed out of the gate in the second period, scoring the first five goals and then using its defense to not allow Denver to get closer than four the rest of the way.

Tar Heels Top Loyola, 13-9, In Season Opener

The University of North Carolina women's lacrosse team scored four consecutive goals early in the second half to seize control of a close game and held on to defeat Loyola, 13-9, in the 2008 season opener for both schools on Friday night at Fetzer Field. UNC improved to 1-0 this season with the win while Loyola fell to 0-1.

Chelsea Parks led the Tar Heels with four goals and one assist while Megan Bosica had three goals and two assists. Erica LaGrow and Corey Donohoe both also scored three goals for Carolina. Grace Gavin led the Greyhounds with three goals and an assist.

Carolina led, 7-5, at halftime before Loyola's Abby Rehfuss scored at the 27:33 mark of the second half to make it 7-6 UNC. The Tar Heels responded with four consecutive goals, three of which were unassisted goals by Bosica, to open up an 11-6 lead. Donohoe scored the other goal during the decisive run. The two teams traded goals the rest of the way on the way to a 13-9 UNC win.

The Greyhounds jumped out to a quick, 1-0, lead just 12 seconds into the game when Kate Filippelli took the draw control, raced down the field and sliced through the Tar Heel defense for a goal. Carolina's LaGrow evened the scored less than a minute later with a goal at 29:05 off an assist from Julia Ryan. Donohoe scored a minute and a half later to make it 2-1 Carolina, and LaGrow and Parks scored back-to-back goals to put the Tar Heels up 4-1.