PRINCETON, N.J. - Freshman Kerrin Maurer totaled five points on a career-high four goals and an assist to lead No. 5 Duke to a 12-9 road victory over No. 8 Princeton Saturday afternoon from Class of 1952 Stadium.
Sophomore Molly Quirke added two goals and two assists, while junior Makenzie Hommel, senior Kim Wenger and redshirt senior Emma Hamm scored two goals each. Sophomore Maddy Morrissey contributed a career-best three assists to lead all players as Duke led Princeton in both shots (25-19) and draw controls (15-8).
Princeton got on the board first with a goal from Cassie Pyle two minutes in. Duke's offense then rattled off three unanswered as part of a 5-1 run covering nearly eight minutes. Hommel started things off with a free position goal at the 25:45 mark and Wenger followed up with a score just over two minutes later. Maurer's first goal of the day made it 3-1 in Duke's favor, before Princeton's Barb Previ registered the first of her two goals on the day.
Goals from Quirke and Maurer bolstered Duke's lead to 5-2 with 18:11 left in the half, but Princeton closed out the period with a 3-1 run to cut the Blue Devils' lead to one heading into halftime. An 8-4 margin in draw controls led to a two-shot advantage for the Blue Devils in the first half, but nine Duke turnovers limited the Blue Devils' opportunities as they took a slim 6-5 lead into the intermission.
Duke opened the second half with four unanswered and led 10-5 after the first eight minutes of the period. The Blue Devils received two goals from Maurer in the run, while Hamm and Wenger chipped in with one each. Princeton leading scorer Jaci Gassaway registered her only goal of the game to cut the Duke lead to four with 21 minutes left in the game, but Morrissey fed Quirke for the answer.
Up five with 13:34 remaining, Duke saw its lead shrink to two as Princeton scored three straight in a four-minute span. The Blue Devils' defense buckled down and did not allow another Tiger score and Hommel added her second goal of the day with 1:46 left to seal the win.
Next up the Blue Devils take on Stony Brook Monday, March 5 at 4 p.m., from the Seawolves' LaValle Stadium.
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