|
May 11, 2008
Washington, D.C. - Georgetown senior Patty Piotrowicz (Plymouth Meeting, Pa.) scored a career-high four goals but it wasn't enough as the visiting Duke Blue Devils got past the No. 6 seeded Hoyas, 10-8 in NCAA Tournament First Round action on a rainy Sunday afternoon at the Multi-Sport Field. Duke junior goalie Kim Imbesi made nine saves including three in the final 1:30 to hold off Georgetown's rally. Duke (12-7) advances to the NCAA Quarterfinals where it will face Maryland in College Park, Md. on Saturday, May 17. The Terps posted a 20-7 win over Temple on Sunday. Georgetown concludes their season with a 12-7 overall record. The Hoyas graduate just three seniors from this season's roster and returns nine starters in 2009. The Hoyas outshot Duke, 28-19 but Georgetown was able to convert on just 3-11 free position attempts. The Blue and Gray also held a 22-17 advantage in ground balls and a 12-8 edge in draw controls. "Today's game reflected our entire season," said Georgetown fourth-year Ricky Fried. "We fought back, we never gave up but we just came up a little short. We didn't shoot it as well as we're capable of but give Duke credit, they made us chase and they made a couple of huge saves near the end." The Blue and Gray scored the first two goals of the game in the opening three minutes but Duke then rattled off four straight markers for a 4-2 with 20 minutes to go before halftime. The Hoyas tied the game at 4-4 on Piotrowicz's first tally of the game with 14:42 left in the half. Freshman Jordy Kirr (Baltimore, Md.) was credited with an assist. Duke then scored four consecutive goals over a 10 minute span for a 8-4 advantage. Piotrowicz netted a free position goal with 57 seconds left before halftime as the Hoyas trailed 8-5 at the break.
The second half saw just a combined five goals including a stretch of 13 minutes where neither team could find the back of the net. Piotrowicz scored on another free position goal in the opening mintes of the second half before Danielle Kachulis scored twice for Duke to give the Blue Devils another four-goal cushion, 10-6 with 7:59 left. Piotrowicz and sophomore Ashby Kaestner (Trappe, Md.) scored free position goals to claw the Hoya to with 10-8 with 1:48 remaining. In the final 1:30 of regulation, Imbesi made a save on a Georgetown free position attempt before she made two more saves inside of the final minute. Duke won both the regular season and NCAA Tournament games over the Hoyas this season. The Blue Devils have now won five straight games. It was the first time in three tries that Duke topped Georgetown in the NCAA Tournament. |
