Women's Lacrosse Opens Season Sunday at No. 6 Duke
February 07, 2014 | Women's Lacrosse
Feb. 7, 2014
Monica Negron, the BIG EAST Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, is one nine returning starters.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - In returning nearly its entire starting lineup from a season ago, the University of Louisville women's lacrosse team is going to be tested right out of the gate. In its season opener, the team faces No. 6 Duke Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Blue Devils, one of the stronger teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference, are coming off a trip to the NCAA quarterfinals and were picked to finish fourth in the conference's preseason coaches' poll. The squad boasts four Inside Lacrosse preseason All-Americans, including first-team selections Kelsey Duryea and Taylor Virden.
Earlier on Friday, Duke (1-0) defeated first-year program Elon 25-4. Kerrin Maurer, one of 14 Blue Devils netting a goal, paced the team with six scores and two assists. Duryea, the goalkeeper, played 46 minutes for the decision and made four saves.
Maurer, an all-region honoree, finished the 2013 season with 70 points, including 35 assists to rank 20th nationally. Duryea, one of the nation's top netminders, had the fourth-best save percentage in the country and ranked 10th in saves per game.
Head coach Kellie Young, who's been at the helm of Louisville's program since it first started competition in 2008, says the Cardinals are excited about opening the season against a top-10 program.
"I think the team is ready to beat up on somebody else," Young said. "They're tired of facing each other. We've gotten comfortable with what we do in terms of what our attackers, how they dodge, and how our defense plays. They're pretty fired up to play somebody new. It's exciting that it's Duke, the No. 6 team in the country. It starts us off on a good foot."
The Cardinals return All-American and one of the nation's top scorers in senior Nikki Boltja. The Medina, Ohio, native ranked second in 2013 in goals per game (3.71) and eighth overall in goals with 63. Louisville's offense wasn't centered solely on Boltja, though, as the team finished eighth nationally in scoring offense and ninth in scoring margin. Now sophomore Kaylin Morissette had one of the top freshman seasons in school history, tallying 43 goals and winning 66 draw controls.
Despite the loss of Katie Oliverio to graduation, one of the top playmakers in school history, the Cardinals have nine returning starters included the 20 returning letterwinners.
"In prepping for the game, it allowed us to do more playing instead of having to spend so much time on the fundamentals," Young said of the large contingent of returnees. "We were able to move through that and get into the bigger concepts, like our fast break and slow break. It's allowed our game to move forward because they're beyond just doing the little things well."
Louisville, picked third in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll, landed three on the conference's preseason team. Headlining the group is three-time all-region selection Monica Negron, the BIG EAST Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. She ranked 21st a season ago in draw controls per game and 35th in caused turnovers, while Louisville collectively ranked 11th in caused turnovers.
Returning goalkeeper Ashley Herbst also played a significant part in the defense's success last season. She set the single-season record for goals-against average at 9.03, good enough for 24th nationally.
According to Young, Louisville's defense is going to be critical to the Cardinals' success on Sunday.
"They're exceptional behind the cage on offense," Young said of Duke. "They have two players that can feed really well. They hit their targets and know their teammates and where each player wants to be fed. What helps us is the new rules in lacrosse, allowing us to play behind and run through the crease. We have a game plan that we think will help shut that down. They're still going to feed from back there, but we're hoping to limit that."
For the latest information on Louisville women's lacrosse, log on to GoCards.com, or, for up-to-the-minute updates, follow the team's Twitter account at www.twitter.com/LouisvilleLax or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/UofLLacrosse.
