DURHAM, N.C. (2/25/07) – The start to the 2007 season for William and Mary's women's lacrosse team was an unpleasant one, as second-ranked Duke stormed to a 15-3 victory at rain-soaked Koskinen Stadium Sunday afternoon. Four different Blue Devils recorded a hat trick, and Duke blanked the Tribe in the first half en route to its fourth-straight victory.

Duke's balanced scoring attack was on display from the start, as five different Blue Devils found the net in the opening 10 minutes. Caroline Cryer's eight-meter tally just 1:03 into the contest put Duke on the board, and seemingly moments later, Leigh Jester's score at the 20:16 mark gave the Blue Devils an ominous 5-0 advantage out of the gate.

After the opening burst, W&M began to shake off the rust in its season-opener and settle in. The remaining 20 minutes featured non-stop back-and-forth action, as the teams combined for 28 first-half turnovers in the miserable conditions. W&M had a number of scoring chances working its settled attack, but the Tribe could not find the back of the net against a relentless Duke defense and Blue Devil netminder Kim Imbesi.

Imbesi turned away two shots by Kara Parker (Phoenix, Md.) and received a little bit of help from the iron when Jaime Sellers' (Kennebunk, Maine) free-position shot at the 10:30 mark of the first rocketed off the crossbar out of play. The Blue Devils' keeper turned away four Tribe shots in total during the opening period, and 17 turnovers helped keep W&M off the scoreboard in the first.

Tribe freshman goalkeeper Sara Beckstead (Annapolis, Md.) and nine caused turnovers in the first-half kept it close. Beckstead recorded six of her game-high 11 saves in the first, and first-team all-conference midfielder Kristen Wong (Richmond, Va.) forced three turnovers. Jamie Fitzgerald (Jenkintown, Pa.) aided the cause with two first-half caused turnovers, but the Duke attack eventually broke through again with goals from Waagbo and Cryer in the final nine minutes for a 7-0 cushion at the break.

Davis' second score came just 29 ticks into the second, and Waagbo completed her hat trick at the 24:59 mark to give Duke a commanding 9-0 lead, before Sellers put the Tribe on the board with an unassisted goal 1:25 later. But, the lethal Blue Devil attack, much like the driving rains, showed no let up on this Sunday afternoon. Davis followed with her third, and Jester would add two more markers to complete a hat trick for Duke.

Parker eventually solved Imbesi with a second-half goal with 18:36 remaining, and the Tribe's final tally was provided by all-conference attacker Emily Vitrano (Cockeysville, Md.) in the final two minutes.

Wong, who finished in the top-10 nationally last season in both ground balls and caused turnovers, made her presence felt Sunday with a game-high eight ground balls and four caused turnovers. Sellers finished with three ground balls and also caused a pair of turnovers. Freshman Katie Rees (Catonsville, Md.) had a solid debut with a couple ground ball pick-ups and one draw control.

W&M returns to action and opens its home schedule on Thursday afternoon, hosting state-rival Longwood at Albert-Daly Field.

Score by Period       1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
WM..................  0  3 -  3
DUKE................  7  8 - 15
 
WM SCORING:
GOALS: Kara Parker 1; Jaime Sellers 1; Emily Vitrano 1.
ASSISTS: None.
 
DUKE SCORING:
GOALS: Kristen Waagbo 3; Leigh Jester 3; Caroline Cryer 3;
       Carolyn Davis 3; Danielle Kachulis 1; Rachel Sanford 1;
       Lindsay Gilbride 1.
ASSISTS: Caroline Cryer 1; Carolyn Davis 1; Leigh Jester 1;
         Danielle Kachulis 1; Kristen Waagbo 1.
 
SHOTS BY PERIOD       1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
WM..................  8 11 - 19
DUKE................ 16 16 - 32
 
GROUND BALLS BY PRD   1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
WM.................. 16  9 - 25
DUKE................ 14  8 - 22
 
DRAW CONTROLS BY PRD  1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
WM..................  4  5 -  9
DUKE................  4  6 - 10
 
CLEARS BY PERIOD       1     2     Total
-------------------------------------
WM..................  7-12  7-10 - 14-22
DUKE................  2-3   3-4  -  5-7
 
FREE-POSITION SHOTS    1     2     Total
----------------------------------------
WM..................  0-2   0-2  -  0-4
DUKE................  1-1   0-1  -  1-2
 
SAVES BY PERIOD       1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
WM..................  6  5 - 11
DUKE................  4  4 -  8
 
TURNOVERS BY PRD      1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
WM.................. 17  8 - 25
DUKE................ 11  3 - 14

2007-02-25