Duke women's lacrosse welcomes challenge vs. undefeated Boston College

<p>Olivia Jenner will need to be at her best with draw controls against Virginia Tech.</p>

Olivia Jenner will need to be at her best with draw controls against Virginia Tech.

Coming off its first road win in two tries this season, the Blue Devils return to Durham Saturday looking for their biggest win of the season in their final home game before rounding out their slate with three games on the road. 

No. 15 Duke will play host to No. 2 Boston College Saturday at noon at Koskinen Stadium in the Blue Devils’ inaugural “It Takes A Team” game, for which the team has partnered with the Duke Cancer Center. The Blue Devils are looking for their third win against a ranked opponent after they knocked off then-No. 11 Syracuse on the road last week. However, Duke will face a tough test against an Eagles team that is one win away from setting a program record for conference wins and is having one of the best seasons in program history. 

Boston College has been dominant on both sides of the ball this season, ranking second in the nation in scoring offense and ninth in scoring defense. The Eagles are led by a trio of seasoned veterans on attack, spearheaded by junior Sam Apuzzo, who leads the nation in points and goals. Senior Kaileen Hart is one of the preeminent assist-makers in the country, and junior Dempsey Arsenault is in the top 10 nationally in points. 

Countering Boston College, junior Olivia Jenner has been one of the best players at draw controls in the Blue Devils' program history. The Annapolis., Md., native ranks first in the ACC and third in the nation with 97 draw controls this season. Her ability to win the draw has been key for Duke's ability to get extra possessions offensively.

"We’ve proven that we’re really good at the draw," Jenner said. "Since it’s a really powerful way to get possession, opponents' strategies have been to foul me, box me out, or just try and put a lot of pressure on the ball, so then it goes around the circle."  

Leading the Blue Devils against the Eagles' potent attack will be Callie Humphrey, who was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Week after Duke’s win against the Orange. The Blue Devils (7-4, 2-2 in the ACC) held Syracuse to just four goals in the second half, and they'll likely need a similarly strong defensive performance Saturday to have a chance at an upset against Boston College. Humphrey has been stellar all season on the defensive end, leading the team in both ground balls and caused turnovers with 23 and 12, respectively. 

Duke’s attack will meet one of the stiffer defenses in the nation itself, as the Eagles (13-0, 4-0) have been nearly as impressive at keeping other teams out of the net as they have been finding it on the other end of the field. But the Blue Devils’ attack has developed into one of the best in the country, averaging just under 15 goals per game. Duke has scored at least 17 goals in four of its last five games.

Jenner has been particularly effective as of late and is riding a hot streak entering Saturday’s matchup following her fourth hat trick of the season against the Orange. Her play earned her Brine/US Player of the Week honors following the Syracuse game, and she and her teammates are hoping to carry over the same attack against the Eagles. 

"One of the main themes of our season has been trying to be a consistent team and I think we started out really well winning against a ranked opponent in Northwestern, but we lost to Stanford and lost close games at both UVa and Penn," Jenner said. "I think winning against Syracuse really proved to ourselves that if we play our game filled with emotion and intensity, then we can beat any of these higher-ranked teams."

Ultimately, what will be most important against Boston College is slowing down its offense. The Eagles’ closest game this year, an overtime win against then-No. 12 USC, was a relatively low-scoring affair, as the Trojans held their visitors to just 13 goals. If Duke is going to notch its biggest upset of the season Saturday, its defense will need to be even better.

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