Louisville Shows Grit, but Comes up Short at No. 8 Duke

Thursday, March 17

Durham, NC

8 pm E.T.

University of Louisville

5-5 (1-3ACC)

Duke

9-1 (2-1ACC)

Louisville

Duke

Nicole Perroni gets set to for a free-position against Marquette

Louisville Shows Grit, but Comes up Short at No. 8 Duke

March 17, 2022 | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score Box Score

The Cardinals held the Blue Devils scoreless in the fourth while netting three goals.

By: Conor Mullaney

DURHAM, N.C. – Nicole Perroni and Hannah Morris recorded hat tricks, but Louisville's fourth quarter rally came up short in a 16-12 loss at No. 8 Duke on Thursday night.

With the loss, the Cardinals move to 5-5 on the season, 1-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, while the Blue Devils improve to 9-1, 2-1 in league play.

"We came out of the gate a little too slow and I feel like we let this one slip through our fingers a little bit today," said head coach Scott Teeter. "I didn't think our execution on the offensive or the defensive end was where it needed to be. We have to be more fundamentally sound to get road wins in this league."

Duke got out to an early 3-0 lead before Caroline Blalock found the back of the net for the Cards' first goal of the night with 10:09 left in the first quarter.

Louisville continued to battle, scoring two goals in the final two minutes of the period before goalkeeper J Pleck came up with a huge save on a last second shot attempt to stay within four at 7-3 heading into the second quarter.

Paige Richbourg scored the lone Louisville goal in the second stanza and the Cardinals trailed the Blue Devils 11-5 at the half.

Allegra Catalano struck first in the third to spark the Cardinals' attack, but Duke stayed strong and carried a 16-9 lead into the final period.

Louisville turned up the pressure on defense in the fourth quarter and stifled the Blue Devils' attack. Morris scored the first goal of the frame with 9:16 left to play and followed it with her third goal of the game to pull the Cards back within five at 16-11.

Perroni notched her third goal of the game with 10 seconds left, pulling the Cardinals within four, but time ran out before Louisville could complete the comeback.

UofL held Duke scoreless in the fourth while netting three goals and doubling the Blue Devils shot attempts.

Six different Cardinals scored in the contest, led by Morris and Perroni's three goals. Caroline Blalock and Richbourg added two goals each.

J Pleck made the start in net and tallied five saves. Sarah Addeche relieved Pleck in the third quarter and made some key saves to fuel the late Cardinals rally.

The Cardinals now return home to host No. 14 Virginia on Saturday, March 26 at 12 p.m. ET at UofL Lacrosse Stadium.

For the latest information on Louisville lacrosse, visit GoCards.com, or follow the team's Twitter account at @LouisvilleLax or on Facebook at facebook.com/UofLLacrosse.