With spring sports thoroughly underway, the Blue Zone is highlighting different squads and their accomplishments. This week, we take a look at Duke women’s lacrosse’s impressive victory against No. 9 Clemson:
While most of campus was getting ready to unwind for Spring Break, Duke women’s lacrosse was locked in the road contest of the season. After spending most of their match against No. 9 Clemson trailing by a number of points, the No. 13 Blue Devils pulled off a miraculous fourth-period comeback for a 12-11 victory.
While the game against the Tigers was preceded by a dominant 16-9 win against Xavier and a close conference win 11-9 to Notre Dame, Duke had a string of difficult losses to start the season. First was a heartbreaking loss to Johns Hopkins — a school so dominant in the sport that the usually Division III athletics program plays in Division I. Seeking revenge from a 17-13 defeat to the Blue Jays in 2024, the Blue Devils lost in overtime after fighting tooth and nail to keep themselves in the contest.
To make its early schedule even more difficult, Duke’s conference opener was set against No. 1 Boston College, where the Blue Devils received a 19-10 rout by the Eagles.
Just short of St. Patrick’s Day, some may attribute this impressive upset to sheer luck. The Blue Devils have had a number of difficult past seasons. In 2023, Duke won only one ACC matchup, and in 2024 went just 4-5 in conference play. However, this road run for the Blue Devils was anything but luck, and instead was built on a strong foundation of grit and team chemistry.
“We have really great leaders who understand that the chemistry piece is really important, not just on the field, but off the field,” head coach Kersten Kimel said.
Whether it be transfers or new freshmen, Duke has added a number of new players to its roster this season. While this could have slowed down the Blue Devils’ dominance, Duke took the change in stride. Kimel has effortlessly blended players old and new, allowing the Blue Devils to stand their ground in one of the most competitive conferences in the sport.
Harvard transfer Callie Hem was instrumental in the win against the Tigers with five goals and nine shots to her name. Duke mainstay senior Carly Bernstein has also had a stellar season with a season-high eight points against Johns Hopkins. Bernstein was recently named to the watchlist for the Tewaaraton Award, one of the most prestigious awards in college lacrosse.
After a series of road games that closed with a 16-11 loss to No. 15 Virginia, Duke will finally get to play at home again. The Blue Devils host Cal Friday.
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