No. 5 Duke exploded in the second half to defeat Navy 18-9 Friday evening, giving the Mids their first loss of the season.
Blue Devil freshman Olivia Jenner controlled the draw circle and possessed 13 of Duke's game-high 23 draw controls.
"It is not the outcome that we wanted and it looked at times that we could have got ourselves back in the game in the first half, but things did not go our way," Navy head coach Cindy Timchal said. "We are a young team and we will need to take this as a learning experience and build from it."
Duke (2-1) came right out of the gate, scoring three goals in just two minutes. The Mids answered with three of the game's next five goals to cut the deficit, 5-3.
Following a pivotal draw control, the Blue Devils increased their lead to four, going into the half with a 9-5 lead.
In the second half, Duke won eight of the final 11 draw controls. They went on an 8-2 run in the final 16 minutes, finishing the game with an 18-9 victory.
Junior attacker, Morgan Young led Navy with a team-high four goals on seven shots. Senior defender Molly Doyle recorded game-highs in ground balls (3) and caused turnovers (3).
The young Mids have a long time to watch the tape and learn from Friday's experience. They return to action in two weeks, traveling to Villanova on Wednesday, Feb. 24. Opening draw is at 4 p.m.
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