The women's lacrosse team survived a last-ditch attempt at a comeback by fifth-ranked North Carolina Wednesday for an 8-7 win over its 15-501 archenemy.
However, Duke (6-2) did not emerge from Chapel Hill unscathed. After such an intense game centered around an infamous distaste for the opposing squad, all participants left the field in some state of mental or physical disrepair.
As the third-ranked women's lacrosse team prepares for an April Fool's matchup at lowly William & Mary (1-5), Blue Devil sophomore Kate Kaiser, fresh off of a hat trick, recognizes the potential for a letdown following Wednesday's dramatic victory.
"We absolutely cannot lower our play," said Kaiser. "We must continue playing at a high level because William & Mary will really try to play up to us."
The Tribe, riding a wave of high hopes at the beginning of the season under new coach Tara Kelly, has wiped out completely. Though William & Mary is ranked 20th in the nation, it remains winless in the Colonial Athletic Association. In its last game, No. 4 James Madison ravaged the Tribe by a 16-7 count.
Nevertheless, it's precisely the Tribe's futility which troubles Duke coach Kerstin Kimel.
"I worry about William & Mary because they have only won one game, and I think they are definitely a dangerous team," she said. "Their hunger to win will make them a tough test for us."
The Tribe's three senior captains-Eganne Wolfington, Jacque Orsi and Amy Pugno-serve as the backbone of the team. Wolfington's role as captain reflects her spiritual rather than her active role on the team, while Orsi fills the space between the posts adequately, stopping 51 percent of shots headed her way.
Among this triad though, Pugno looms as Duke's largest threat with her superior field vision that led her to 26 assists in the 1999 campaign, a single-season William & Mary record. She has continued to amass fine statistics this year, as evidenced by her tie for the team lead with junior Lindsey Lawman for points scored with 18.
Other potential luminaries for the Tribe in Saturday's game are juniors Tara Hannaford and Kim Fabel. Simply put, Hannaford scores goals. Of her 17 points this year, only one has come from an assist. On the other side of the field, Fabel, an All-American last year, notoriously plays some of the nastiest one-on-one defense in the collegiate ranks.
While William & Mary needs a victory against a highly regarded team such as Duke to salvage the wounds suffered in such a disappointing year, the Blue Devils want to leave Williamsburg triumphant to continue their march to possible postseason success.
"We have a great overall team effort," Kaiser said. "It really gets the team going when the defense starts the play and the attack finishes with a goal. The relationship between the offense and the defense ignites the whole squad."
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