Women's Lacrosse NCAA Quarterfinal ACCtion: Saturday, May 17

May 17, 2008

Four Straight Final Fours For Blue Devils As They Knock Off Maryland, 9-7

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Duke got a superb 13-save performance from Kim Imbesi and pulled off its second straight upset in the NCAA Tournament, this time a 9-7 victory in the quarterfinals against No. 3 Maryland at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex. In doing so, the Blue Devils will now make their fourth consecutive trip to the national semifinals.

Duke took a 3-0 lead less than 10 minutes into the contest, only to watch that advantage evaporate as the Terps scored four goals in a span of 3:25 midway through the first period. The Blue Devils were able to knot the score 4-4 going into halftime in an offensively sparse second part of the first half.

The two well-matched team traded the first four goals of the second stanza to stay tied at 6-6 with 17:09 remaining in the game. That's when Duke took over, notching three straight goals that included junior attacker Megan Del Monte's second goal and second assist of the game. Sophomore midfielder Lindsay Gilbride led off that run with her second goal of the match. Leading 9-6 with 7:07 remaining, the Devil defense clamped down on the high-powered Maryland attack, allowing just one goal the rest of the way.

The story of the game was the defense, which held Maryland to the fewest goals it has scored at home this season and its second-lowest goal total overall. Imbesi's 13 stops included six in a span of 4:20 late in the game when Duke was holding onto a three-goal lead. Imbesi's goals against average in Duke's last five games is a mere 8.09 and her save percentage is a whopping .517.

Syracuse Downs Tar Heels, 13-11, In NCAA Quarterfinals

Syracuse, N.Y. - Katie Rowan had two goals and four assists and Christina Dove had three goals and two assists as fifth-seeded Syracuse defeated unseeded North Carolina, 13-11, on Saturday afternoon in the Carrier Dome in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals. The Orange gathered 11 of 15 second-half draw controls to help provide the winning margin in a back-and-forth contest.

With the victory, its 11th in a row, Syracuse improves to 18-2 this season and advances to next weekend's NCAA Final Four in Towson, Md. Carolina falls to 13-7 and sees its season come to a close.

For the Tar Heels, Megan Bosica scored four second-half goals and Kristen Taylor had two goals and an assist in the contest. Julia Ryan scored twice for UNC, with Meg Freshwater, Corey Donohoe and Jenn Russell each adding single goals.