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W LAX: Blue Devils Face Road Test Against No. 7 Princeton

Mar 6, 2008

DURHAM, N.C. --- The Duke women's lacrosse team will play its second straight top-10 opponent when it visits No. 7 Princeton on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The match will take place at the Class of 1952 Stadium in Princeton, N.J.

The Blue Devils: Duke is off to a 5-0 start this season and a 1-0 mark in the ACC. The 5-0 start is the fourth one in the program's history and the third time that has happened in the last four years.

On attack, Duke is led by three players: senior captain Caroline Cryer, junior Megan Del Monte and freshmen Christie Kaestner. Cryer was a 2007 Tewaaraton Trophy finalist and is Inside Lacrosse's and Lacrosse Magazine's 2008 Preseason Player of the Year. She scored two goals and dished out three assists against Denver on Feb. 15. She was injured in that contest and her playing status is on a game-to-game basis. Del Monte has become a starter after coming off the bench in her first two seasons. She has eight goals and six assists through Duke's first five games. Kaestner has become an immediate starter as a freshman and has seven goals and five assists.

Duke midfield is very depp, with senior Allie Johnson and junior Carolyn Davis leading the way and junior Jess Adam, sophomore Lindsay Gilbride and freshmen Sarah Bullard and Emma Hamm in support. Johnson has scored six goals this season and has been crucial on the draw, picking up 18 draw controls to pace the team. Davis returns after suffering an ACL tear in the final game of the 2007 season and leads the team early in the season with 19 goals and eight assists. She has been playing mostly low attack as she continues to rehab and condition from her injury, and earned ACC Player of the Week accolades on Feb. 18 and March 4. Adam has been all over the field in the early going, recording six goals, five assists, nine ground balls, 12 draw controls and causing four turnovers. Gilbride has netted 11 goals and added four assists this season. Bullard and Hamm have not looked like freshmen in the early going. The duo has combined for 16 goals, 11 assists, 19 ground balls, 21 draw controls and 11 caused turnovers. Hamm leads the team in assists with nine, caused turnovers with eight and is second on the squad with 16 points, 13 ground balls and 14 draw controls.

Defense is the most experienced position for Duke. The leadership roles belong to senior Aiyana Newton and junior Christina Germinario. Newton has six ground balls and six turnovers caused, and shutout Maryland's Tewaaraton Trophy watch list nominee Kelly Kasper in the second half on March 1. Germinario has produced four caused turnovers and picked up six ground balls. Senior Sarah Kirchhofer has done a solid job early in the season, with three starts, three ground balls and two draw controls.

The Blue Devils have junior Kim Imbesi starting in the cage for the second consecutive season. Imbesi has posted a 9.40 goals against average and a .447 save percentage through five games while starting and playing all 300 minutes.

The Tigers: Princeton is 2-0 to start the 2008 campaign. The Tigers are led by junior attacker Christine Casaceli with five goals and one assist and junior midfielder Holly McGarvie with five goals, nine ground balls and six caused turnovers. Junior midfielder Kristin Schwab has added four goals and one assist through two games. Sophomore Kaitlyn Perrelle paces Princeton in goals and has posted a .533 save percentage and a 4.67 goals against average.

Series History: Duke is 4-7 all-time against Princeton. The Tigers are one of only three teams that hold more than a one-game series advantage over the Blue Devils, with the other two being Maryland (7-9) and Virginia (6-15). The Blue Devils defeated the Tigers, 16-14, on March 11, 2007, with three goals and one assist from Caroline Cryer and two goals and one assist from Carolyn Davis.

Rankings: The Blue Devils are currently No. 3 in the weekly IWLCA poll and Inside Lacrosse's media rankings. The Tigers are No. 7 in both polls.

Last Time Out: Duke scored a 14-13 come-from-behind victory over No. 5 Maryland on March 1. The Blue Devils were behind by multiple goals in both halves before rallying behind six goals and one assist from Carolyn Davis.

Princeton defeated Rutgers, 16-8, on March 5 at home. The Tigers had nine different players score in the game.

On the Horizon: Duke will play Vermont on Tuesday, March 11 at 5:00 p.m., in Koskinen Stadium. The game marks the second of three March doubleheaders with the Duke men's lacrosse team, who will play Presbyterian at 7:30 p.m. that night.