Site: Durham, N.C. (Koskinen Stadium)
Score: #12 Duke 19, High Point 9
Records: High Point (1-6, 0-0), # 12 Duke (5-2, 1-2)
Next HPU Event: Wednesday, March 17th, — vs Coastal Carolina 4:00 PM (High Point, N.C.)
DURHAM, N.C. — The High Point University women’s lacrosse team fell to #12 Duke 19-9 on Thursday afternoon in Koskinen. High Point senior Abby Hormes was named to the Tewaaraton Award Watch list again this season earlier this afternoon prior to the beginning of the game. The Tewaaraton is awarded to the top male and female in college lacrosse each season. Hormes led the way in scoring for the Panthers with three goals on the day, she added two assists for a game high tying five points. Ashley Britton was the other Panther with multiple goals on the day as she finished the day with two.
“Although the score doesn’t show it, we got some answers we’ve been looking for tonight, Coach Lyndsey Boswell said. “There were some bright moments and some really amazing sets on both ends of the field. Credit to the Duke draw unit, that’s what hurt us the most, we just couldn’t generate enough offensive possessions and then at times, we couldn’t handle the ball and the result was a game with a majority of defense. We stay optimistic knowing that we’ve been playing NCAA tournament teams all year, and learning as much about ourselves as possible so we can hope to see some of these teams again.”
Duke opened up the contest with a goal five minutes into the game. Less than a minute later the Panthers answered with a transition goal from Mena Loescher. Tremendous passing set up the goal as Megan Nerney passed it to Hormes who found Loescher who was able to finish and tie the game at one. To this point, the two sides were matching each other with defensive stops and offensive opportunities. The Blue Devils pushed out to a three-goal lead with a 3-0 run to go up 4-1. Hormes scored with 22:03 to go in the first and brought HPU within two goals, 4-2.
Duke scored, but Rachel Foster answered to bring the Panthers again within two, 5-3 with 20:32 to go in the half. The Blue Devils added another to go up 6-3 but High Point again brought themselves within two as Britton scored to make it 6-4. Duke again pushed their lead to three and looked to extend it but the Panthers held strong and found another goal. Hormes scored the fifth HPU goal which brought the score to 7-5 with 9:21 left as the highly contested first half continued. Duke ended the half with a 4-1 run to take an 11-6 lead into the half. Kaely Kyle provided a big answer for the Panthers to end the half as she scored with 13 seconds remaining to make it 11-6 and cut the halftime deficit to five.
High Point added three goals in the second half as Hormes scored her third of the day while Britton added her second. Emma Genovese scored with 1:24 left and was assisted by Hormes who with the assist, picked up her fifth point of the night. Her five points tonight marked a season-high for the senior.
UP NEXT: The Panthers return to Vert Stadium to host Coastal Carolina next Wednesday (March 17th) on St. Patrick’s Day.