Charles Nailen/The Hoya Senior attack Wick Stanwick and the Hoyas were pushed around by Duke.

For the first time this season, the Georgetown women’s lacrosse team was taken out of its game. The No. 4 Duke Blue Devils shut down the normally fast-paced Georgetown offense, while its own attackers controlled the ball and the clock. The result was a 14-11 upset of the Hoyas, who came into the match ranked No. 3.

A repeat matchup of last season’s NCAA quarterfinals in which Georgetown outplayed Duke to pull off an 11-4 victory, Saturday’s game marked the first loss for the Hoyas since they lost to Princeton in the national championship game on May 19, 2002..

Duke scored early and often in its victory, while Georgetown never held a lead. Blue Devil freshman attack Katie Chrest opened the scoring less than two minutes into the contest. Chrest leads the team with 20 goals on the season, and had a team-high four tallies Saturday. For the Hoyas, senior attack Wick Stanwick netted four goals – three in the second half alone – but it was too little, too late for Georgetown.

Georgetown found itself down 2-0 in the first four minutes before it began to mount a response. Sophomore midfielder Lauren Bernier responded with a goal; she had three on the afternoon. Two more goals put Duke up 4-1, however, before Stanwick added her first goal of the day. The Hoyas would pull within one, 5-4, before Duke ended the first half on a three-goal scoring tear.

The Blue Devils subdued the potent Hoya offense through passing. Though they took just 21 shots, each shot was carefully crafted. Duke circled the ball around the perimeter, often for minutes at a time, waiting for a break in the Hoya defense on which to capitalize.

“We let Duke control the game early, and even though we were fighting them, it’s really hard to regain control and tempo against a team that’s as strong as they are,” Head Coach Kim Simons said. “We would get it close and they would do what a great team does, they would open it back up again.”

The Hoyas looked hungry as they came out of the break, and slipped a goal in against Duke just 19 seconds into the period. The Blue Devils responded again, however, putting in two goals of their own seven minutes apart. So with 10 minutes gone in the half, Georgetown found itself down, this time 10-5.

The Hoyas were briefly able to establish the running game, and looked to be climbing back into the game. They scored three goals in two minutes, including two from Bernier. A flustered Duke team saw its lead slipping away and called a timeout to regroup.

“We were taking some chances offensively that we might not normally take, we have to have the ability to get back,” Simons said. “Duke had the legs on us, they subbed a lot more, and they’ve got a little bit more depth.”

Shortly after the pause, Duke established a running game of its own. The Blue Devils’ sophomore midfielder Kristy Dirks netted one goal at the 11:39 mark, and another at the 11:18 mark, establishing a 12-8 lead. Stanwick gave the Hoyas hope, scoring three goals in less than seven minutes, but Duke’s clock control was too much for the Hoyas. Duke scored twice more and the clock ran out, leaving the Hoyas on the losing end of a 14-11 final.

Simons emphasized the importance of Georgetown’s defense in recent wins. On Saturday, however, the Hoyas lacked the tenacious defensive presence they have shown of late, due in large part to the play of the goalies.

Goaltending duties for Georgetown were split between sophomore Sarah Robinson and freshman Dosha Stright. Robinson had five saves and Stright had three on the afternoon, while Duke freshman goalie egan Huether picked up 10 saves. Despite Georgetown’s advantage in groundballs, draws and shots, Duke’s ability to take Georgetown out of its game doomed the Hoyas.

“I certainly hope it leaves us hungry and [ticked] off,” Simons said of the disappointing upset.

The Hoyas next take on reigning national champions Princeton, ranked No. 6 in the nation. The Tigers also fell to Duke last Wednesday, in an 8-4 decision. In that match, Princeton led or tied Duke in all statistical categories, and was still defeated. Georgetown will need to play smart defense and stick to its game in order to avenge last season’s 12-7 loss to Princeton in the title game.

“You don’t play this kind of game with this kind of effort and then expect to walk into Princeton and have a good day. It’s going to be key for us to figure out what didn’t work [Wednesday] and then move forward and get ready for what will be another very tough game against another very tough team on Friday,” Simons said.