Women's lax halts three-game skid with 6-3 win over Vandy

The women's lacrosse team had a mission last night for its game against visiting Vanderbilt: play well in order to gain momentum heading into the upcoming Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. Mission accomplished.

The Blue Devils, who had lost three straight coming into the game, used solid defense and four goals from sophomore Tricia Martin to defeat the Commodores 6-3 at Duke Lacrosse Stadium.

"The team had a lot of feeling coming out for this game," coach Kerstin Kimel said. "I think that's something we have lacked the last few games.... I think that was the biggest hurdle. "

While Duke had fallen behind early in its last two losses, it made sure that was not the case last night. After two-and-a-half minutes of passing, Martin found the back of the net for a 1-0 lead, and the Blue Devils never looked back.

Sophomore Emily Hickman followed just 1:20 later with another goal to extend the lead to 2-0. The two teams battled for control of the ball with neither team eluding the other's goalie. With 12:24 left, the Commodores cut the lead to 2-1 on a goal by Michelle Dillow.

Vandy appeared to have gained momentum in the game, but Martin put the Blue Devils back ahead by two, 3-1, scoring with only 4:35 remaining in the half. The Duke defense played with great intensity to make up for some missed shots on offense in the first half.

"I think the defense has been an amazing team effort throughout the season," senior Karen Sutton said. "A lot of us really know how to work with one another."

The rest of the game followed this same pattern: Vandy would pull within one goal only to have Martin answer with one of her own.

"We have to be able to shoot better," Kimel said. "Overall I am very happy with the presence we showed tonight on the field."

The Commodores had a chance to avoid being doubled with five seconds left in the game on a free position shot, but reserve goalie Erin Miller, who played the last few minutes of the second half, proved to be a brick wall and disallowed the attempt.

While Duke's defense played a tremendous game, the offense also deserved some of the credit. If time of possession was a recorded statistic, Duke would have held a great advantage. It takes a lot of pressure off the defense when the offense constantly has the ball.

"The offense really settled the ball," Kimel said. "They were patient at times when they should have been patient. They hit people when they were open, but we just didn't take good shots."

Although a team actually wins a game by outscoring an opponent on the field, this win may have been the result of proper preparation.

"We all just tried to focus," Sutton said. "We did a couple of activities yesterday that helped us to concentrate on the fun of the sport and just the simplicity of it. We had a new attitude going into this game."

The Blue Devils were certainly happy with this win, especially with the ACC Tournament coming up this weekend. It was important to gain some confidence since a rematch with Virginia, who defeated Duke 13-3 last Friday, is right around the corner.

"I think this win helped to lift our spirits and to know exactly what it takes to win," Sutton said.

The Blue Devils hope to carry this win into the ACC Tournament, where they will face Virginia on Saturday in Charlottesville.