The 11th-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores dropped an 11-7 decision to #1 Duke Saturday in NCAA women's lacrosse action. The Commodores fought hard against the top-ranked Blue Devils, outscoring Duke in the final 20 minutes of the game by a 4-1 tally.

The Commodores got on the board first when sophomore Mary McCeney capitalized on a free position shot in the third minute of the game. Vanderbilt was held scoreless for the rest of the first half while Duke put together six-straight goals.

In the second half, Duke extended its lead to seven before the Commodores began their comeback. Sophomores Jess Roguski and Kelly Devlin each scored twice in the second stanza, with McCeney and junior Jeannie Crawley adding a goal a piece. Duke held off the Commodores, though, as Kelly Dirks scored four goals, including the Blue Devils last two tallies.

Freshman goalkeeper Ashley Bastinelli, last week's American Lacrosse Conference Player-of-the-Week, had ten saves for the third time in four games.

"Although our game did not result in a win today, we played well and had a total team effort," said Vanderbilt Head Coach Cathy Swezey. "After a tough game against Georgetown it was good to see that we can and will compete with the nation's top programs."

The Commodores begin a five-game homestand against the University of Connecticut on Sunday, March 17, at 1 p.m. central time.

Scoring Summary
02:05 VU McCeney (FPS)
05:13 DU Bennett (Gallagher)
08:02 DU Gallagher
15:58 DU Dirks (FPS)
17:48 DU Bennett (Miller)
19:20 DU Miller (FPS)
22:35 DU Dirks
30:25 DU Laschinger (Dirks)
31:23 VU Devlin
32:12 DU Bennett
33:47 DU Laschinger (Miller)
35:26 VU Roguski
38:12 DU Dirks
42:27 VU Roguski
43:53 VU Crawley
45:05 DU Dirks (Barnet)
50:56 VU McCeney (Mundt)
51:57 VU Devlin

Saves
VU - Bastinelli - 10
DU - Foster - 8