NCAA WLAX: Northwestern 11, Duke 8

Peter Koutroumpis, Triangle Sports Network

DURHAM, N.C. – There was slight chill in the air, but the energy on and off the field was high when the fourth-ranked Duke Blue Devils clashed with the fifth-ranked Northwestern Wildcats at Koskinen Stadium on Sunday.

Putting forth an impressive effort, the Blue Devils (1-1) eventually ran out of firepower and suffered an 11-8 loss to the Wildcats (1-0).

Kyra Harney and Olivia Jenner scored two goals each along with singles from four others while goalkeeper Kelsey Duryea posted a career-high 16 saves and seven ground balls in the loss.

A five-goal performance from Northwestern’s Selena Lasota along with an eight-save finish from goalkeeper Mallory Weisse held off the Blue Devils long enough to secure the Wildcats’ season-opening win.

Coming off a 20-4 season-opening win over Campbell on Thursday, the Blue Devils’ matchup against the Wildcats presented a critical test for a young team.

Having lost 70 percent of its scoring from a year ago after finishing 16-5 and reaching the NCAA semi-finals, Duke’s solid start against the perennial NCAA-championship contender was something head coach Kerstin Kimel appreciated.

“In the first half I thought we moved the ball well and with speed and got some really nice shots off,” Kimel said.

“I thought in the second half we weren’t moving the ball, and we weren’t getting our shots off as well. I think it was a little bit of what they were doing defensively and we were overthinking things.”

Northwestern opened the game’s scoring before the Blue Devils answered back with two straight.

A free position conversion from Harney was followed up by a scoring sequence in close from Stuart Humphrey that put Duke ahead 2-1.

Duryea stymied Northwestern on consecutive possessions before Lasota beat her to tie it up.

The Blue Devils keeper along with Weisse made impressive stops throughout.

Duke then put together a three-goal run over a four-minute span on goals from Kelci Smesko, Harney, and Hayley Shaffer that pushed the Blue Devils ahead 5-2.

However, repeated turnovers eventually allowed the Wildcats to push back hard.

Sheila Nesselbush and Lasota did all the damage and started an eventual six-goal spurt that continued into the second half.

Even while possessing the ball for much of the remainder of the half, Duke was unable to tie the score and trailed 6-5 at halftime.

Gaining possession of the faceoff to start the second half, Lasota continued the scoring run, and followed up with a goal from Kaleigh Craigh, extended the Northwestern lead to 8-5.

Duke answered back with Maddy Acton’s high-low shot that beat Weisse and pulled the Blue Devils within two at the 27:37 mark.

Duke continued to follow its fast-passing, yet patient offensive strategy to draw Northwestern into foul situations.

The Wildcats committed 28 fouls throughout the game, and as a result the Blue Devils earned seven free position opportunities to score.

Unfortunately, Duke didn’t capitalize on the six remaining advantages it earned after Harney’s opening goal.

Weisse came up with a big save on Kitty Morrisey on a free position shot that kept Duke trailing 8-6 with 17 minutes remaining.

The Blue Devils eventually put together the surge they needed and pulled even with the Wildcats.

Jenner’s two-goal effort followed a 14-minute period of scoreless play between both teams.

Her first cut the Wildcat advantage to 8-7 with 13:45 to play.

An effective defensive stand paid dividends as a save from Duryea put Duke in transition and resulted in Jenner scoring her second of the game to tie it up at eight apiece six minutes later.

In response, Northwestern netted three straight goals over a two-minute span that finalized the game’s scoring.

Though they tried, the Blue Devils ran out of time and chances and suffered their first loss of the season.

“There are a lot of positives to take away from this,” Kimel said.

“I think our kids adjusted well as we changed some things offensively and defensively. We’re gonna learn a lot about ourselves and that’s one of the best parts of playing a game like this so early. It would be a game that we could learn a lot about ourselves quickly and get us moving along and progressing faster through the season.”