By the time Stanford scored its first goal with 11:52 remaining in the second period Saturday, Katie Chrest had tallied five, Kristen Waagbo had five assists and starting goalie Megan Huether was on the sidelines.
Duke’s offense, which produced both in transition and in sets, netted more than 15 goals for the fifth time in 10 games as the the team blew out Stanford 18-1. The sixth-ranked Blue Devils (8-2) outshot the Cardinal (5-3) 45-11 in its second of two games in Nashville, Tenn.
“We expected a much tighter game,” head coach Kerstin Kimel said.
Duke tried to put the game away early, attacking Stanford’s goal relentlessly. Although the Blue Devils got open looks, Stanford’s goalie made up for her team’s porous defense, and the Cardinals kept the match close in the opening minutes.
With the contest scoreless after eight minutes, Duke finally broke through with a trio of goals from Rachel Sanford, Katie Laschinger and Chrest over the next 1:50 to gain a 3-0 advantage.
The Blue Devils never relinquished their offensive pressure, scoring seven more times before the end of the half. Huether made four saves, and Duke took a 10-0 lead into the break.
“Once we got into a groove, we were able to finish,” Kimel said.
The Blue Devils’ defense continued to swarm Stanford’s attackers, disrupting any rhythm the Cardinal generated. As a result of Duke’s pressure and anticipation, Stanford only got off four shots during the final 30 minutes.
“We did a really good job of anticipating what they were going to do,” Kimel said.
A controlled transition attack in the second half allowed Duke to slow the game down but still maintain offensive pressure. Rather than running down the field and shooting, the Blue Devils focused on setting up their offense in Stanford territory.
Like in the first half, it took Duke several minutes to get on the board, but Chrest scored her fifth goal six minutes into the second half to restart the scoring barrage. The mostly freshman and sophomore lineup at the end of the game continued to build Blue Devils’ lead.
The methodical offense allowed Duke to attack Stanford’s zone defense by using cutters to give other players lanes for open shots.
“We have a number of threats,” Kimel said. “You have to worry about a lot of different people on our team.”
Duke scored four more times before Stanford finally got a shot past freshman goalie Regan Bosch, who replaced Huether midway through the second half.
With Duke leading 15-1, freshman Jessica Adam scored two goals and Kim Wathey added one to seal Duke’s win.
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