Duke women's lacrosse coach Kerstin Kimel scheduled back-to-back weekend games this season to prepare her team for the postseason tournaments, in which this same format is used. If this weekend's performance is any indication of what will occur at the end of the season, then the Blue Devils are in pretty good shape.
Second-ranked Duke (6-1) traveled to Georgetown (4-2) and Johns Hopkins (4-1) for games Friday and Saturday and came away with wins both times, 10-9 over the Hoyas and 14-6 over the Blue Jays.
The Blue Devils, who have won five straight games, trailed No. 9 Georgetown 7-3 with 21:30 left to play before they began the first of two rallies to catch the Hoyas. Duke received two goals from Kate Soulier and one apiece from Kelly Dirks and Tricia Martin in a 2:47 span to even the score at 7-7 with 16:52 left in the contest.
Georgetown answered with two goals of its own to take a 9-7 advantage with only 7:39 remaining in the second half. Duke, however, would not be denied on this day.
A goal by Martin closed the deficit to one and a score by Dirks with 1:29 left knotted the game once again. As time ran down, it appeared that it was going to take overtime to settle this one. But Dirks found the back of the net with only eight seconds to play to give the Blue Devils their first lead of the second half at 10-9.
On a day in which Martin and Kate Kaiser were held in check, Dirks, a freshman, rose to the occasion, scoring five of Duke's 10 goals.
"Coming back like this really gives our team confidence," Kimel said. "It lets us know that if we do get down again, we have it within ourselves to fight and get back in the game.... I was happy with how we responded to adversity and ultimately won the game."
The game Saturday versus Johns Hopkins provided a perfect opportunity for the Blue Devils to suffer a proverbial letdown. But Martin had other plans.
Duke's All-American notched six goals on the day, leading the Blue Devils to an easy 14-6 victory over previously undefeated Johns Hopkins (4-1). Martin came out of the gates quickly with five goals and an assist in the first stanza, helping Duke to a 6-3 advantage. The Blue Devils then tallied six consecutive goals in 17 minutes for a 12-3 lead.
"I think we came out a little flat on Saturday, mainly because we were tired," Kimel said. "While we did win the game, I still think we need to look sharper. We have some big games coming up over the next couple of weeks."
Dirks, one of six Blue Devils to find the back of the net on the day, continued her hot play, recording three goals and bringing her total to eight for the weekend.
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