A trip to Michigan turned out to be a near-perfect weekend for the field hockey team, as it shut out Central Michigan and lost on a late goal to Northwestern.
Duke (1-2) scored early and often in a 5-0 victory over Central Michigan on Saturday. Leading scorer junior Melissa Panasci recorded a hat trick with three goals while sophomore Emily Ford and true freshman Johanna Ashley added a goal apiece. Ashley's score was the first of her collegiate career and closed out the scoring with just over four minutes left in the second half.
"We definitely dominated Central Michigan," Panasci said. "We were a much better team athletically and skills-wise."
The Chippewas could muster only four shots on goal in a strong defensive effort for the Blue Devils. Saturday's contest marked the collegiate debut of freshman goalkeeper Brooke Fuller. She only had to make two saves in recording the shutout.
"It was really awesome [to be playing]," Fuller said. "It was a great time and a great experience."
Against national power Northwestern yesterday, Wendy DeFord's score with 3:21 remaining in the second half proved to be the decisive goal in Duke's 4-3 loss to the Wildcats.
"It was such a close game," Panasci said. "For us to compete against such a great team was a great accomplishment."
Things started out well for the Blue Devils when junior Mandy Schott opened up the scoring with 25:26 left in the first half. Northwestern immediately responded with two tallies over the next three minutes to take a 2-1 lead. But junior Cyndi Breyer punched in the ball with just 15 seconds remaining in the first half off of an assist by sophomore Mary Jo Reider.
Duke opened up strongly in the second half and a blast by Panasci, who now has six goals already on the season, off of a corner with over 30 minutes left in the game would prove to be the Blue Devils final lead of the afternoon. Ellie Karvoski notched her second goal of the day at the 24:26 mark of the second half to tie the game at 3-3.
Both teams then battled fiercely for the winning edge until DeFord's late goal decided the contest.
"We played right with them," Fuller said. "It came down to the end with both teams trying really hard to score that last goal. We didn't lose because of a lack of desire."
Fuller also performed well in the Northwestern game, turning back nine of 15 shots. Duke actually outshot the Wildcats 17-15. In Saturday's game, the Blue Devils outshot Central Michigan 17-4.
The Blue Devils will play their Atlantic Coast Conference opener against the Maryland Terrapins on Friday. The contest, a 7 p.m. affair, will also be Duke's first home game of the season.
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