NEWTON, Mass. - Duke disposed of its final ACC opponent of the season on the strength of two 9-0 runs in its 19-5 win over Boston College Saturday. It was the first time in more than four years that the Blue Devils played as the No. 1 team in the country.
Duke (12-1, 4-1 in the ACC) scored the first goal of the contest after Katie Chrest buried the ball into the corner of the net 20 seconds into the game, and the team never looked back. The Blue Devils' offense overwhelmed the Eagles with a barrage of 21 shots in the opening period and converted on nine of them. Boston College (7-6, 1-3) finally got its first goal 29 minutes into the game on the Eagles only shot in the entire first half.
"We just wanted to get out there, push tempo right away and get the lead quickly," attacker Caroline Cryer said. "Everyone contributed in this game, so they couldn't really stop one person."
After sustaining the 1-0 lead until 10 minutes into the game, the Blue Devils began to break open the contest. Seven goals by six different players extended Duke's advantage to 8-0 in less than nine minutes. The two teams exchanged goals in the final minutes for a halftime score of 9-1.
"Shooting was something we've really worked on all week," Duke head coach Kerstin Kimel said. "We were nine for 21, which is okay. This goalie, the way she plays, gives us the kind of problems we already have, because she's good high."
The Blue Devils improved their shooting in the second half, going 10-for-15, including another 9-0 run to finish off the Eagles.
The unselfish Blue Devils spread their 19 goals over 14 different players. Cryer led the way with three goals. Teammate Kristen Waagbo became just the seventh player in Duke history to notch four assists in a game. Leigh Jester accomplished the same feat a week ago against then-No.1 Northwestern.
Defensively, Duke maintained a high-level of effort as it kept Boston College off the scoreboard for nearly 14 minutes to open the second half. The Eagles' last four goals did not come until starting goalie Megan Huether had been replaced by freshman Kim Imbesi and sophomore Regan Bosch.
"I think we did a really great job of anticipating and not giving them what they wanted," Kimel said. "Our defense played really aggressively, really smart, took away some of the things we knew they were looking for. I was really pleased with their effort."
In wrapping up a successful ACC regular season, in which the Blue Devils captured a share of the title with third-ranked Virginia, Duke maintained its No. 1 ranking until at least April 21 when the Blue Devils face No. 16 William & Mary. Duke will be the No. 2 seed for the ACC Championships in Baltimore April 28, behind the Cavaliers, the only team to defeat Duke this season.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.