WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (Feb. 16, 2014)—The William and Mary lacrosse team was edged by No. 5 Duke, 11-8, in its season opener at Martin Family Stadium at Albert-Daly Field on Sunday afternoon.
The Tribe (0-1) trailed by just one goal early in the second half, but the Blue Devils (3-0) utilized a pivotal 4-1 run down the stretch to escape with the victory.
In addition to earning a 12-9 advantage in draw controls, W&M was balanced offensively as six different players combined for the College's eight goals.
Seniors Jenna Dougherty and Taelor Salmon both recorded two goals apiece, while Bridget Brown, Alexi Farmakis, MC Curran and Shannon Quinn also found the back of the cage. Junior Ellen Shaffrey also came up big with a game-high five draw controls, while senior goalie Colleen Nofi posted nine saves.
Although W&M got on the board first when Dougherty scored just 2:02 into the contest, Duke responded with four unanswered goals during the next five minutes.
The Tribe charged back with goals from Salmon and Farmakis to cut the margin to just one, 4-3, midway through the half.
A pair of quick scores by Duke pushed its lead back to three at 7-4, at the 13:54 mark, but W&M countered with two of the final three goals of the half to trail by just two at halftime. Both of the College's final two goals of the stanza came courtesy of freshmen, as Quinn scored an unassisted goal at the 6:23 mark and Curran found the back of the cage on a free-position opportunity with just 0:29 remaining.
W&M struck first in the second half as Salmon posted her second goal of the game just 2:08 into the frame. However, Duke held the Tribe scoreless for stretch of nearly 20 minutes en route to building a 10-6 advantage.
After Dougherty's second goal of the contest, coming on a free-position shot, cut the deficit to 10-7 with 7:54 left, Duke's Molly Quirke answered with a goal less than 40 seconds later to extend the margin back to four..
Brown provided W&M's final score of the afternoon off an assist from Farmakis with 0:12 remaining.
Duke was led by four players with two goals apiece, while the Blue Devils owned advantages in shots (25-22) and ground balls (19-10).
The Tribe will return to action when it hosts Louisville next Sunday at 1 p.m.
