WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (Feb. 8, 2012) - The William and Mary lacrosse team fell to fifth-ranked Duke, 18-9, in its season opener at Martin Family Stadium at Albert-Daly Field on Wednesday afternoon.

Playing in cold and rainy conditions, the contest was tightly contested early before the Blue Devils (2-0) pulled away with a 12-2 run that covered the end of the first half and the beginning of the second.

Senior Maggie Anderson led the Tribe (0-1) with four points (3g, 1a), while sophomores Taelor Salmon and Katie Stillwell both tallied a pair of goals apiece. Stillwell also added two draw controls and two ground balls. Senior Jenny Michael also came up big with a team-high four draw controls, while freshman goalie Lucy Ferguson posted 14 saves in her collegiate debut.

W&M got on the scoreboard first when Salmon found the back of the cage off an assist from Anderson less than a minute into the contest. The teams continued trade goals for the next 13 minutes, as neither squad was able to pull ahead by more than a score. Anderson scored once during the opening portion of the contest, while Stillwell added two goals - the second of which tied the count at 4-4 with 17:28 remaining in the half.

However, Duke closed the opening stanza by scoring six of the final eight goals to take a 10-6 lead at halftime.

Anderson, Stillwell and Salmon all totaled two goals apiece in the opening 30 minutes, while Ferguson recorded seven saves.

The Blue Devils extended the advantage to 16-6 with a 6-0 run during the initial 9:09 of the second half. Although W&M outscored Duke, 3-2, during the final 20 minutes, it was unable to narrow the margin to less than eight the rest of the way.

Makenzie Hommel led Duke with six points (3g, 3a), while Molly Quirke registered a game-high five goals for the Blue Devils.

DU held a narrow edge in draw controls (16-13) and ground balls (15-11), while outshooting the College, 40-23.

The Tribe will return to action when it plays at second-ranked Maryland this Sunday at 1 p.m.