Cards Battle, Come Up Short at No. 15 Duke

Saturday, March 14

Durham, NC

12:00 PM

University of Louisville

4-5, 1-4

Duke

6-3, 3-2

Louisville

Duke

Photo by: Mason Seidt | Louisville Athletics

March 14, 2026 | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score

Berg and Whiteman score four apiece, Scroggie collects 12 draw controls in 16-14 loss at No. 15 Duke

By: Lori Harmon

DURHAM, N.C. – The University of Louisville lacrosse team battled with No. 15 Duke, but fell 16-14 in an Atlantic Coast Conference matchup Saturday afternoon at Freeman Field.

"I thought this was a great lacrosse game," said UofL head coach Scott Teeter. "We competed hard against a good Duke team. We have to continue to battle for 60 minutes and we can't keep paying from behind, good teams will make you pay for mistakes. Ella, Grayce and Reese were outstanding today and it was great to see Elizabeth Shean get first goal as a Cardinal."

In an evenly-contested game, Louisville (4-5, 1-4 ACC) trailed by as many as four in the first half and fought back with a 5-0 run to take the lead early in the third quarter. Ella Berg and Reese Whiteman led the Cardinals' attack with four goals apiece while Grayce Kitchen notched her first collegiate hat trick and added an assist. Rian Adkins also finished with four points registering two goals and two assists.

Duke (6-3, 3-2 ACC) got the offense started early in the game, firing three shots on goal in the first two minutes before Eva Pronti broke through the put the Blue Devils on the board. The Cards quickly answered with a goal by Kitchen to even the score. After Richards picked up her third save of the game on a free position opportunity, a turnover led to Duke's second goal of the game.

The Blue Devils stretched their lead to 4-1 before the Cards answered with her first goal of the game to cut into the deficit with 2:25 left in the first quarter. Duke added another goal to take a 5-2 lead into the second quarter.

Louisville struck first in the next frame when Kitchen connected on a free position attempt for her second goal of the game. Duke tallied two more goals to take a 7-3 lead, but the Cards battled back with four unanswered goals to end the quarter. Whiteman started the run at the 7:26 mark with an assist from Rian Adkins. Berg went on to deliver her second goal of the game and Whiteman followed three minutes later with her second score of the contest. Berg continued the momentum, tying the game with 43 seconds left in the half.

Entering the break, Duke held a 17-16 edge in shots, landing 11 on goal to Louisville's eight. The Cardinals led the draw control margin 8-7 and Haley Richards collected seven saves with Duke's Hope Schoudel picking up three stops.

The Cardinals stretched their scoring run to five as Berg opened the second half with her fourth goal of the contest to put Louisville on top 8-7. The Blue Devils countered with a 3-0 run of their own to regain the lead at 10-8 midway through the quarter. Louisville stopped the Duke run when Whiteman tacked on her third goal of the day to pull the Cards within one again. The Blue Devils pushed the lead back to two less than a minute later to make the score 11-9 entering the fourth quarter.

Duke opened the final frame with a goal by Bella Goodwin, but the Cards struck back with a free position goal by Adkins. The Blue Devils padded their lead again with back-to-back goals before Elizabeth Shean netted her first goal as a Cardinal with a feed from Charlotte Jackson to make the score 14-11 with 7:22 left to play.

The teams traded goals over the next six minutes with Whiteman adding her fourth tally and Adkins notching her second of the contest to make the score 16-13 with 53 seconds left to play. Scroggie won the ensuing draw control and Louisville acted quickly as Adkins connected with Kitchen to pull the Cards within two once again with 38 seconds on the clock. Scroggie went on to collect her 12^th draw control of the contest, but the Blue Devils held on for the 16-14 win.

Overall, Louisville outshot Duke 32-30 with the Blue Devils owning a 22-15 edge in shots on goal. The Cards claimed 17 draw controls compared to 15 for Duke with Scroggie earning a game-high 12. UofL also held a 13-11 edge in ground balls with Whiteman, Cate Kangas, Avery Johnston and Riley Engelberg grabbing two apiece. Richards collected nine saves, bringing her season total to 108.

The Cardinals will return to UofL Lacrosse Stadium on March 21 when California visits for another ACC matchup which is slated for a noon start on ACCNX.

NOTES:
• Reese Whiteman extends her goal scoring streak to 10 games, dating back to April 17, 2025.
• Ella Berg matched her career game high with four goals and extends her scoring streak to nine straight games. She leads the team with 23 goals and 28 points.
• Freshman Grayce Kitchen (3G, 1A) notched four points for the second straight game and registered her first collegiate hat trick for Kitchen.
• Olivia Scroggie logged her third double-digit draw control effort of the year, scooping up 12. The Cardinals held a 17-15 advantage today in the draw circle against the Blue Devils who entered the contest leading the ACC in draw control victories per game (17.75).
• Scroggie now sits at 76 draw controls on the year, eclipsing her freshman season total of 73.
• Elizabeth Shean recorded her first goal as a Cardinal, sending one past the Duke keeper in the fourth quarter.
• Haley Richards' nine saves help her pass the century mark on the season. She now has 108 saves on the season and 115 in her career.
• The Cardinals' 14 goals are tied for the second-most that Duke has allowed all season.