Opening their season, the No. 2 women's lacrosse team dominated a pair of opponents over the weekend, generating a tremendous number of offensive opportunities and keeping control of the game. The Blue Devils knocked off Virginia Tech Friday by a score of 16-2 and defeated the University of Maryland-Baltimore County Sunday 17-4 on the West Campus Turf Field.
"I was extremely pleased with the overall effort we game this weekend," head coach Kerstin Kimel said. "We were able to just turn it on and go really hard for 60 minutes."
In both matchups, Duke retained position of the ball in their half for the majority of the contest. The team took a large number of shots on goal, 44 against Virginia Tech and 53 on the UMBC's net, showing their superiority over their opponents defense.
In Sunday's matchup with UMBC, the Blue Devils got off to a strong start and led 10-3 by half-time. The team continued their aggressive play in the second half but slowed down their when the outcome of the game was decided.
Jessica Bennett scored her second consecutive hat trick and a quintet of Blue Devils netted a pair of goals. All told, 11 different Duke players found the back of the net.
After getting out to a quick 3-0 lead in the first half against Virginia Tech Friday, the Hokies answered with two goals of their own. Then, with only two seconds remaining in the period, Kaiser slammed a bounce shot from straight on into the back of the net to give Duke the momentum and a 4-2 advantage at half-time.
In the second half, the Blue Devils really took control of the game scoring 12 unanswered goals.
Katie Chrest, Kaiser and Jessica Bennett all had hat trick. With last season's leading scorer Lauren Gallagher and fellow senior Erin O'Shaughnessy each adding a pair of markers.
The game marked the return a number of stars from injury last season. Most notably Kaiser who comes off knee surgery that put her out of action last season.
"It's great to be back," Kaiser said. "It's awesome to be out on the field instead of on the sidelines."
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