Pirates Head To Duke For Tuesday Matinee

Game 8: ECU (5-2) at No. 16 Duke (5-3)
Date	Tuesday, March 10
Time	2:30 p.m. (EDT)
Location	Durham, N.C. (Koskinen Stadium)
Coverage	Watch Live \| Live Stats
Social Media	Twitter: @ecuwlax Instagram: @ecuwlax Facebook: ECU Women's Lacrosse

GREENVILLE, N.C. – After having its program-record winning streak snapped, the ECU lacrosse team will try to bounce back with a trip to No. 16 Duke on Tuesday afternoon.

ECU (5-2) had its five-game winning streak snapped with an 11-8 loss to Army. The Pirates offense was able to score when it had the ball, but ECU struggled to gain possession as Army had a 17-4 edge in draw controls. Nicole LeGar continues to do a little bit of everything for the Pirates. She leads ECU in points (24), assists (nine), ground balls (15), caused turnovers (13) and draw controls (31) while checking in at second in goals (15) and free-position goals (four). Megan Tryniski is second on the team with 22 points on 15 goals and seven assists while Megan Pallozzi leads the Pirates with 17 goals to go with three assists. Pallozzi has been deadly from the eight-meter arc, shooting 71.4% to rank 17th in the country. As a team, the Pirates shoot 55.6% on free-position shots, ranking eighth in the NCAA.

Ashley Vernon has started all seven games in goal for the Pirates and the Medford, N.J., native is coming off a career-high 13 saves against the Cadets. Vernon is 24th in the country and leads the AAC with a 9.98 goals against average. The Pirates' defense is ranked No. 20 in the country, allowing 9.86 goals per game and ECU causes 10.0 turnovers per game. Along with LeGar, Cece Bartley has forced 11 turnovers while Liz Blumthal has nine. Camryn Pennypacker (17) and Frances Kimel (15) are the Pirates other than LeGar with at least 10 draw controls.

Duke (5-3) has beaten all five unraked opponents it has faced this season while falling to the three ranked opponents on the schedule, including losses to top-three foes Northwestern and Notre Dame. The Blue Devils are currently ranked No. 16 in the nation and have a 4-1 record at home. Like ECU's last opponent, Army, Duke is deadly at the draw circle as the Blue Devils rank sixth in the country in draw control percentage (.631). Maddie Jenner is Duke's primary weapon there, ranking second in the NCAA in draw controls per game with 10.5 per game and 84 on the season. Duke's offense ranks fifth in the nation, scoring 17.88 goals per game while they rank sixth in caused turnovers per game, turning teams over 12.25 times. Caroline DeBellis leads Duke with 30 points on 13 goals and a team-high 17 assists. Catriona Barry and Katie Cronin each have 18 goals to lead Duke. In the crease, Chase Henriquez and Sophia LeRose have each started four games. Henriquez has been more productive, allowing 9.82 goals and making 44 saves with a .494 save percentage.

ECU will be battling Duke for the third straight season. The Pirates are 0-2 against the Blue Devils, losing in Durham in 2018 and in Greenville in 2019. It will be the first time Kimel will play against her mother, Kerstin Kimel, who is the long-time coach of the Blue Devils. Pirates head coach Amanda Moore was on Kimel's staff at Duke from 2012-2016.

Tuesday's contest will get started at 2:30 p.m., on Tuesday afternoon. The game will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra and fans can also follow the live stats here.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Cece Bartley

Liz Blumthal

Frances Kimel

Nicole LeGar

Megan Pallozzi

Camryn Pennypacker

Megan Tryniski

Ashley Vernon

Footer