In a contest that was ultimately more fun than competitive, energetic No. 4 Duke (13-3) dominated Davidson (1-15) 21-6 Saturday.
The Blue Devils opened with seven unanswered goals in the game's first 14 minutes. Kate Kaiser began the scoring at 1:48, soon followed by goals by Meghan Miller and Jessica Bennett.
In all, six different Duke players found the back of the net before Davidson could even get on the board. Once they did, the Blue Devils quickly answered when Lauren Gallagher scored off an Erin O'Shaughnessy pass to push the score to 8-1.
"We came out and had a lot of energy we were just looking to have a lot of fun," Kaiser said. "We didn't have anything on paper game plan wise it was more just like come out, have fun and be enthusiastic."
Before halftime, Katie Chrest and Miller each scored their second goals of the period and going into the intermission, Duke had amassed a 12-2 advantage.
Despite holding such a sizable lead, the energy level did not drop in the second half for the Blue Devils. Just 13 seconds into the period, after controlling the opening face off, Kaiser took the ball straight to the net, scoring her third goal of the contest.
The second half was highlighted by O'Shaughnessy, who scored three times including back-to-back goals at the 42 and 44-minute marks.
The period was also the first opportunity for many of Duke's younger players to see their first action of the season. "I think this is what we wanted," head coach Kerstin Kimel said. "We wanted to come out and really play our game for sixty minutes and we did that for enough of the game that allowed us to get everyone in today."
Andrea Crosby scored the first goal of her collegiate career at the 51 minute mark. Senior Carrie Star also added her first goal of the year just a minute after Crosby's.
"It was really exciting being on the sidelines and cheering them on," Kaiser said. "It's the first time this year we've gotten to do that and it's really exciting to see all their hard work has really paid off."
Earlier in the week, the Blue Devils squared off against James Madison winning 13-5. Gallagher and Chrest headlined the Duke attack with four and three goals respectively.
The Blue Devils built a 4-0 lead before the Dukes answered with a pair of goals. Duke went into halftime with a 5-2 advantage and quickly stretched its lead to 7-2 after Crest found the goal twice in the opening minutes of the second half. For James Madison, Lisa Staedt and Gail Decker each contributed a pair of goals.
The upcoming week presents a challenge for the Blue Devils, as they must prepare for Sunday's match with Dartmouth-a team Duke lost to in 2002-and final exams before the NCAA Tournament begins.
"This is always a tough week with exams and we have a really big game at the end of it," Kimel said. "I'm looking to get better this week, not take a step backwards and get ready for Dartmouth and the post-season."
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