No. 7 Duke Outlasts Eagles in North's Return to Durham
Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom)Publisher
Duke's Maddie Jenner is the nation's top draw specialist. And she's arguably the best to ever do it in the sport's history.
In fact, the 6-foot-2 senior—who leads the country with more than 12 draws per game—has a chance to finish the season first in NCAA history for draw controls.
Jenner is more than just her accomplishments in the circle, though. She's also a capable scorer. The Annapolis, Maryland, native reminded everyone of that Saturday afternoon against Boston College.
After Jenner won her 12th and final draw of the game, Duke head coach Kerstin Kimel called a timeout with about two and a half minutes remaining. Kimel drew up a play for Jenner, a mismatch for any defense.
Junior attacker Caroline DeBellis trailed left from the X position and lofted a pass to Jenner in front of the cage. In one swooping motion, Jenner leapt, caught the ball and came back down with it, spiking a game-winning goal past BC goalie Rachel Hall.
Jenner, who was battling former teammate and reigning Tewaaraton winner Charlotte North in the circle all day, stole the show on the day of North's first return to Durham.
BC's Hollie Schleicher ended up winning the last draw, but the Blue Devils' zone defense prevented the Eagles from even getting a shot off in the waning seconds.
Duke, off to its best 16-game start in program history, completed the upset on Senior Day, while North walked out of Koskinen Stadium with a 16-15 defeat hanging over her head.
The No. 7 Blue Devils (15-1, 6-1 ACC) led by as many as six goals in the third quarter. No. 2 BC (13-2, 5-2) staged a comeback that saw the Eagles tie things up in the final frame before Kimel's catalyzing timeout.
Duke had a step on BC head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein's team from the start. The Blue Devils came in with the nation's top scoring offense, and that showed early. Duke's attackers were consistently winning 1-on-1s with BC defenders, and Hall didn't stand a chance.
The senior Eagles netminder was coming off a strong two-game stretch against Notre Dame and Harvard but posted a meager .158 save percentage Saturday.
Almost everything was working for Duke amid its 6-3 first quarter. Anna Callahan logged the first of her three goals on what appeared to be a pass from the 12-meter arc. It looked like Callahan was trying to get the ball to Katie DeSimone, but it whizzed past DeSimone and Hall into the back of the cage.
Then, right before the end of the period, Abby Landry—who, like Callahan, had a hat trick against BC—bounced a shot inside the near post that squeaked by Hall's foot.
Belle Smith was the Eagles' most valuable offensive player against the Blue Devils. The sophomore middie piled up nine points, including six assists. She was the spark plug for BC, which came into the matchup right behind Duke in goals per game.
Smith quickly made it a one-goal game in the second quarter, first threading the needle with a pass to Jenn Medjid, who fired a shot past Blue Devils goalie Sophia LeRose. Then Smith took matters into her own hands with a free-position shot that hit off LeRose's leg and beamed into the bottom-left corner of the cage.
After BC and Duke went back and forth for a few minutes, the Blue Devils orchestrated a 4-1 run to end the half. Callahan scored twice in that span. She went top shelf on a free-position shot to make it 8-6 and, prior to intermission, sidestepped Smith along the eight-meter arc before giving the Blue Devils an 11-7 advantage heading into the break.
As good as Duke's offense was Saturday, the Blue Devils wouldn't have been in position to pull off the win without LeRose. The senior goalie made five first-half stops and ended up recording a .421 save percentage against an uber-talented BC attack.
Not to mention Duke's back line, which doubled North and smothered driving lines.
Duke staked itself to a 13-7 lead early in the third period with a couple quick goals from Jenner and DeSimone. That's when it appeared as if North was going to take over.
She scored two goals, separated by less than five minutes. In between, Mckenna Davis found the back of the net to cut BC's deficit to three.
Before the fourth quarter, however, Duke's Cat Barry restored the Blue Devils' four-score cushion by wrapping around the cage, spinning around BC's Melanie Welch and firing a shot past Hall.
Hall only made three saves against Duke, but her biggest came early in the final frame. Following a smooth, behind-the-back goal from Davis, Hall covered up a low Olivia Carner point-blank shot.
That save led to a Kayla Martello goal on the other end. Then, during a stoppage of play, LeRose limped off the field with an apparent leg injury.
LeRose didn't return, and freshman keeper Kennedy Everson had to defend the pipes the rest of the way. At first, it looked like BC was going to exploit LeRose's absence.
But, after BC and Duke traded goals, Everson passed her biggest test. She saved North's patented free-position shot.
Still, it wasn't long before the Eagles knotted the game up at 15-15, thanks to Smith finding Martello for back-to-back goals.
Jenner winning the ensuing draw set up her game-winning goal, but BC had an opportunity to force overtime on the other end of the field.
A near Smith turnover was recovered by the Eagles, courtesy of Martello's hustle. Except, the giveaway was simply delayed as a centering pass couldn't be controlled by either Medjid or North.
Duke's win drops BC, the No. 1 team in the country the first five weeks of the season, to fourth in the ACC standings.
That says more about the strength of the league than the Eagles, though.
BC has two losses, and both have been decided by one goal.
Nevertheless, the defending champs have work to do. And, on the biggest stages, they're going to need more from their two stars who transferred two seasons ago: Hall and North.
