May 17, 2008
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COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Duke's Kim Imbesi was credited with 13 saves, including seven in last 6:30 of the game, as No. 12 Duke defeated No. 3 Maryland, 9-7, in the quarterfinals of the 2008 NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship on May 17. It was the first loss for the Terrapins at home under head coach Cathy Reese.
Sophomore Caitlyn McFadden scored a hat trick in the game and also picked up three draw controls. Senior Kelly Kasper had a goal and an assist and classmate Allie Buote was credited with five saves in goal.
Duke came out firing in the opening minutes and took a 3-0 lead nine minutes in. Executing a methodical offense, Jess Adam assisted on Allie Johnson's goal at the 24:16 mark to open the scoring. Carolyn Davis and Lindsey Gilbride both went unassisted 1:01 apart to give the Blue Devils the three-goal cushion.
Reese called a timeout and the Terps responded, rattling off four unanswered goals to take their first lead of the game, 4-3, with 15:14 to go in the first half. Senior Katie Pumphrey sparked the run off of the ensuing draw control as she took the ball from midfield and dashed through the Duke defense for the score.
McFadden scored her first goal 24 seconds later off the draw and then she notched another goal after making a move on the left side of the fan.
Senior Lauren Cohen tallied the fourth goal as she made a move from behind the cage.
Eight minutes expired with the score 4-3 as neither team could strike until Duke's Danielle Kachulis used a pass from Megan Del Monte to tie the game with 7:22 left in the half. The two teams went into the break deadlocked.
The Blue Devils wasted little time in getting back on the board as Megan Del Monte struck first out of the locker room 54 seconds in to give Duke the lead back at 5-4.
Kasper tied the game again with a free position goal after the Blue Devils were called for a three-second violation, but Emma Hamm put Duke up again when she collected a misfired free position and put it home.
With 17:09 left in the game, Kasper handled the ball behind the cage on the offensive end and Dobbie positioned herself in front of the goal. With a pair of defenders on her, Dobbie made a move to her left and Kasper found her open stick, which Dobbie finished to tie the game again, 6-6.
Duke then went on a game-clinching three-goal run to take an insurmountable 9-6 lead with 7:07 to play. Hamm hooked up with Gilbride for the first goal of the run at the 14:00 mark, then Del Monte made a move around the back of the cage to put Duke up 8-6.
Christie Kaestner put the finishing touch on the streak with the help from Del Monte. As the Blue Devils were stalling, Maryland attacked the ball and Kaestner was left all alone in front of the net for the score.
In the last seven minutes, Maryland pushed for a run but Imbesi and Duke's defense were up to the challenge. The Terps had the ball in the offensive end for a bulk of the time, forcing Duke to fail on five-straight clear attempts, but Imbesi's heroics kept Duke's lead safe.
Del Monte led the Blue Devils (13-7) with a pair of goals and assists while Gilbride scored two goals. Hamm was credited with a goal and an assist.
Maryland finishes the season with an 18-3 record, the most wins for the program since 2003. Its three losses this season came by a combined four goals.
