After a disappointing loss to eventual ACC champion North Carolina, the women's lacrosse team knew that to extend its season, it would have to win the remainder of its regular season games.
Duke has since focused on controlling the tempo of its next three games against James Madison, Dartmouth and Pennsylvania, respectively.
Duke will have its hands full, as each of these teams has garnered impressive wins over the course of the season. James Madison may be the toughest of the three, however.
"JMU's really good, but we can win if we play our game," junior Lauren Gallagher said. "We have prepared like it's any other game, and we need to win this one."
James Madison, too, is coming off a loss, as they recently dropped a 17-13 decision to Old Dominion. The Dukes are currently 8-9, but hold impressive wins over No. 8 Maryland and No. 9 Yale. They have lost by a goal apiece to No. 3 North Carolina and No. 2 Georgetown.
On what she and her teammates need to look out for against James Madison, Gallagher said that the Dukes were a solid all-around team.
"I think they're strong on both ends," Gallagher said. "We basically just need to control the tempo and play our game."
Duke will travel Friday to visit the Big Green of Dartmouth, ranked 13th nationally. They boast a 9-4 record and wins over No. 29 Harvard, No. 19 New Hampshire, and No. 17 Penn State. Dartmouth's most recent loss came at the hands of No. 1 Princeton in the form of a 15-3 shellacking.
May 4th, Duke will host Pennsylvania for the first time. The Quakers are new to Duke's schedule in 2002. Currently ranked 22nd nationally and 7-7 overall, their most recent win came against Villanova, a 16-5 decision that continued the Quakers' two-game winning streak. Penn has big wins over Harvard and James Madison.
Duke will look for strong team defense and a patient offense over the next few weeks in order to clinch a position in the 16-team NCAA Tournament.
"Moving the ball on offense is key for us," Gallagher said.
The Blue Devils are led in scoring and total points by Gallagher, a Tewaaraton finalist. The junior midfielder has tallied 26 goals and 10 assists on the season. Senior Kelly Dirks has made significant contributions as well, putting the ball in the net 25 times and assisting on nine goals for 34 points.
Duke's other Tewaaranton finalist, senior goalkeeper Kristen Foster, has amassed 122 saves in 13 games and is allowing just 9.0 goals per game. Foster was a first-team All ACC selection this season along with Gallagher.
On Duke's chances of qualifying for the NCAA Tournament, Gallagher cited the strong level of play in the ACC as an important factor for the selection committee. Duke's schedule strength is ranked first, ahead of Maryland in second place. The Blue Devils are placed seventh in quality-of-win-factor.
In the end, however, Gallagher believes their case can must be made on the field.
"We need to win the next three games," she said.
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