May 5, 2008

Duke Uses Late First Half Surge To Propel Past Dartmouth, 17-11

HANOVER, N.H. - No. 11 Duke (11-7) used four goals in just 26 seconds late in the first half to grab an 8-3 halftime lead, and used that momentum to run away with a 17-11 victory at Scully-Fahey Field. The game marked the final regular season match-- and fifth contest straight away from home-- for the Blue Devils, who will find out if they are selected for the NCAA Tournament on Monday night.

Leading 4-3 with under one minute remaining in a defensive first half, four Blue Devils scored four goals from 0:35 to 0:09. Duke and Dartmouth traded the first six goals of the second half before taking turns going on two small runs each in which the Devils went up by as many as eight but no fewer than five.

Duke got eight goals from eight different players in the first stanza, and junior attacker Megan Del Monte assisted on three of those. She would finish with one goal and four assists in the contest. Del Monte currently ranks seventh at Duke for assists in a season with 22.

A trio of players in addition to Del Monte had dominant offensive games: sophomore midfielder Lindsay Gilbride, junior captain and midfielder Jess Adam and junior attacker Carolyn Davis. Gilbride was held scoreless in the first half but went on a tear in the second, hitting paydirt five times. Davis and Adam each added three goals and one assist. Davis now ranks fifth all-time at Duke for goals in a season with 51.