The women's lacrosse team traveled to South Bend this weekend for two games against lower-ranked opponents, but Duke, much like any bowler, was not pleased with the result: a split.
No. 3 Duke (9-3) had no trouble taking care of host Notre Dame (8-4) Friday, 14-5, but 16th-ranked Yale pulled the upset against the Blue Devils, 6-5, on Saturday.
"This was our fourth weekend in a row on the road," coach Kerstin Kimel said. "I did not think we played very well against Notre Dame. We were better prepared against Yale, but we shot very poorly. It was just not our day."
The Blue Devils had hoped to gain momentum this weekend, but Yale had other plans. The Bulldogs held Duke to only five goals on the day, the Blue Devils' lowest output of the season.
"It was a tough loss and a disappointing loss," Kimel said. "But I really think we will be better off in the long run because of this game."
The key to this game, however, may have been the Blue Devils' inability to convert open chances. Duke attempted 35 shots on goal but only found the back of the net on five of those opportunities, shooting a lowly 14 percent.
This lackluster offensive performance came one day after the Blue Devils netted 14-of-26 shots against Notre Dame. The Blue Devils earned 16 free position shots versus the Bulldogs, but only converted on three of them.
"Yale is a good team; you have to give them credit," Kimel said. "When we'd shoot, we hit about five or six pipes. This was just one of those games where things were not going to fall for us."
While Kimel was not especially pleased with her team's performance against the Fighting Irish on Friday, Duke still walked away with an easy win.
After Notre Dame kept things close through the first 30 minutes, Duke ran off nine consecutive goals to start the second half, expanding its lead from one goal to 10. Tricia Martin sparked the run, netting all five of her goals for the game during this stretch.
Kelly Dirks scored a pair of goals and Claire Sullivan added another to give the Blue Devils an early 3-0 lead with 13:09 to play in the opening stanza. Notre Dame netted three of the next four goals to cut the lead to one at 4-3 going into halftime.
Duke started the second half with a vengeance, scoring five goals in the first 8:12, and never looked back. Overall, nine Blue Devils found the back of the net, and goalies Shannon Chaney and Kristen Foster combined for 16 saves.
"We have a lot of the season left and some big games still to play," Kimel said. "We won't let that one loss [to Yale] be a reflection of our team. We can't let this loss hold us down. Instead, we have to be determined to fight back and improve."
The Blue Devils will return to action Tuesday night, as they host Virginia Tech at 7 p.m. at the Duke Lacrosse Stadium.
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