Liberty Falls to No. 8 Duke on Road

In the first-ever meeting between the two schools in women's lacrosse, visiting Liberty fell 18-6 to No. 8 Duke, Tuesday evening at Koskinen Stadium.

The Blue Devils have now won back-to-back games and improve to 8-5 this season. Meanwhile, Liberty moves to 6-6 in 2021 after its fourth setback to a nationally-ranked team and second loss against a top-10 foe, this year.

Thoughts From Head Coach Kelly Nangle
"Today was a big challenge for our girls. We came out a little flat, and we got ourselves into a hole that we had to work to climb out of for 50 minutes. We had some bright spots in our upperclassmen and their leadership. We are going through a gauntlet of games this month that will prepare us for May. We have both good and bad to take away from today that will make us better. As long as we continue to grow and develop through these games, we will be in a good spot. We have a tough weekend ahead to focus on and prepare for!"

Scoring Summary
Liberty Goals: Mia Toscano 2, Brooke Bryan 2, Jordan Baerga 1, Lizzy Ferguson 1
Liberty Assists: Mackenzie Lehman 1
Duke Goals: Maddie Jenner 4, Caroline DeBellis 3, Katie DeSimone 2, Olivia Carner 2, Catriona Barry 2, Gabby Rosenzweig 1, Katie Cronin 1, Eva Greco 1, Abby Landry 1, Olivia Rubin 1
Duke Assists: Gabby Rosenzweig 4, Catherine Cordrey 2, Katie Cronin 1, Caroline DeBellis 1, Katie DeSimone 1, Maddie McCorkle 1

Goalkeepers
W: Sophia LeRose 5-5, seven saves
L: Jennifer Soriero 6-6, six saves

Turning Point
Liberty fell behind Duke 8-0 in the first 11:54 of the game. The Blue Devils extended the lead to 11-1 with Olivia Carner's goal at the 12:53 mark of the opening half.

The Lady Flames held the Duke offense out of the scoring column for the final 12:52 of the first half and received goals from Mia Toscano (10:22) and Jordan Baerga (6:19) to trim the deficit to 11-3 at the half. However, Duke scored six of the first seven goals of the second stanza to pull away for the victory.

First Half Summary
• Liberty held its own in the draw circle in the first half against a Duke squad which came into the game ranked ninth nationally in draw controls per game (16.50). The Blue Devils held a 9-6 edge. The Lady Flames' Carly White paced the visitors with three draws in the opening 30 minutes.
• Liberty found success in the clear in the first half, converting all nine of its chances. Duke was highly efficient on offense with 11 goals on 18 shots. The Lady Flames scored three times on 12 shots.

Second Half Summary
• Duke's Maddie Jenner, who entered the contest ranked fourth nationally in draw controls per game (9.42), won seven of her game-high 12 draws in the final 30 minutes. The Blue Devils collected 10 of the 11 draws in the second half.
• Liberty's Brooke Bryan, Mia Toscano and Lizzy Ferguson each found the back of the goal in the second half.

Key Stats & Notes
• Liberty found more success on clearing opportunities than Duke, converting 94.1 percent (16-of-17) of its chances. The Blue Devils finished the game at 85 percent (17-of-20). Both teams scooped up 17 ground balls. Duke committed 17 turnovers, compared to 15 for Liberty.
• Duke held advantages in shots (30-23) and draw controls (19-7).
• Bryan's two-goal game was her sixth straight multiple-goal effort and eighth in 12 games, this season. She leads the team in goals (29) and points (33).
• Toscano also scored twice today and has five multiple-goal games in 2021.
• Liberty senior defender Sarah Steenson matched a game high with four caused turnovers. Eight different Lady Flames notched caused turnovers this evening, and 10 different players had ground balls. Toscano, Carly White and Jennifer Soriero led the team with three ground balls each.  

Up Next
• Liberty will host Kennesaw State (5-6, 1-0 ASUN) in its first ASUN contest, Friday at 1 p.m. at the Liberty Lacrosse Field. Friday is Senior Day for the Liberty lacrosse program. Prior to the game, the team will honor its five seniors – Carly White, Grace Fletcher, Sarah Steenson, Claire Bratchie and Maddi Little – with a special ceremony.
• The Lady Flames are 1-0 all-time against the Owls. Liberty topped Kennesaw State 16-12 on March 16, 2019 in what was its inaugural ASUN contest.