No. 6 Field Hockey Falls Short Against No. 2 Duke in ACC Opener

Friday, September 16

LOUISVILLE, KY

6:00 PM

University of Louisville

(6-1, 0-1ACC)

DUKE

(7-0, 2-0ACC)

DUKE

Louisville

No. 6 Field Hockey Falls Short Against No. 2 Duke in ACC Opener

September 16, 2016 | Field Hockey

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Cards fall 2-1 to No. 2 Duke

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The sixth-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team fell 2-1 to No. 2 Duke in the Cardinals' ACC opener Friday evening at Trager Stadium.

The Cardinals (6-1, 0-1 ACC) outshot the Blue Devils 9-8 and held a 6-4 edge in penalty corners, but Hunter Bracale's goal with 7:44 remaining in the game broke a 1-1 tie to give Duke (7-0, 2-0) the 2-1 win.

The Blue Devils (7-0, 2-0 ACC) jumped to an early lead after drawing the first penalty corner of the game. Alyssa Chillano connected on assists from Margaux Paolino and Ashley Kristen to put Duke on the scoreboard.

Midway through the first half, the Cardinals (6-1, 0-1 ACC) increased their offense, drawing three penalty corners and ripping off five shots – four on goal – in the final 16 minutes of the half, but trailed 1-0 entering the break. Louisville outshot Duke 5-3 and held a 3-2 edge in corners in the first half of play.

The Cards (6-1, 0-1) broke through in the second half while capitalizing on a penalty corner opportunity. Senior Erin McCrudden got the corner started and junior Nicole Woods provided the stop for sophomore Taylor Stone who sent a shot past Duke goalkeeper Sammi Steel. Stone's second goal of the season evened the score at 1-1 with just under 19 minutes left in the second half.

The teams battled through the next 11 minutes before the Blue Devils answered. Louisville's Lizzie Gittens stopped a shot by Haley Schleicher, but Bracale was there for the rebound and sent the ball into the cage to make the score 2-1.

The Cardinals continued their attack throughout the final seven minutes and pulled goalkeeper Ayeisha McFerran in favor of an extra field player with 1:50 left to play, but were unable to convert.

"In the first half, I thought they out-hustled us, outworked us and they wanted it more," said UofL head coach Justine Sowry. "The first half was really disappointing for me. We worked hard all week, but we were on our back foot at the very beginning of the game and that didn't help. We also didn't stick to our identity. We didn't pass the ball well, we were supposed to play quick – and we did the opposite. So that was really disappointing. The second half, we came out a little stronger, a little quicker. We changed our lineup a little bit to ignite a little bit of attack, but Duke's a very good team. You have to play for 70 minutes."

McFerran (5-1) collected three saves in the loss as the Cards snapped their six-game win streak. Steele (7-0) registered six saves for Duke.

The Cardinals (6-1) will play host to Ohio State on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Trager Stadium. Admission is free.