March 9, 2011
DURHAM, N.C. – Four goals from All-American Ally Carey and hat-tricks by senior Emily Franke and junior Courtney Kirk were not enough to help the 13th-ranked Commodore lacrosse team overcome third-ranked Duke on Wednesday night, as the Blue Devils used a second-half run to secure a 14-12 victory at Koskinen Stadium.
“Despite the loss, we feel like we grew as a team tonight,” VU Head Coach Cathy Swezey said. “We showed that we have a lot of fight in us and we are ready to compete.”
Vanderbilt and Duke played even in most statistical categories. The Commodores held a 22-20 advantage in shots on goal and trailed by narrow margins in ground balls and draw controls.
The Commodores never trailed in the first 33 minutes. Carey scored the first goal of the game just 58 seconds in, and Franke would follow that with two of her own to give VU a 3-0 lead. The Blue Devils struck back with three of their own to tie the game. Both teams traded goals before VU senior Meghan Rose scored with 3:47 left before halftime to give the Commodores a 5-4 lead at the break.
In the second half, Franke opened the scoring to give VU a 6-4 edge. Duke then scored three goals in less than a minute to take its first lead at 7-6. After a Courtney Kirk tally tied the game, the Blue Devils would score the next five goal to take a 12-7 advantage.
Vanderbilt scored five of the game’s last seven goals, including three from Carey, to get within a pair of goals on two occasions, including the final 14-12 score line.
Carey led the Commodores with three draw controls and shared the team lead in ground balls with junior goalkeeper Natalie Wills at four. Wills made six saves on the day for VU, while Duke goalkeeper Mollie Mackler had 10 stops.
The Commodores (4-3) will have a week before returning to game action on Wednesday, March 16, when New Hampshire visits the Vanderbilt Lacrosse Complex for a 5 p.m. CT start. VU will then head back out on the road to face American Lacrosse Conference rival Penn State on Sunday, March 20.
