Completed Event: Field Hockey at North Carolina on November 16, 2025 , Loss , 1, to, 2 , OT
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Final
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at North Carolina
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Blue Devils Set For NCAA Contest With James Madison
11/9/2007 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
DURHAM, N.C. - The Duke field hockey team earned its sixth straight and ninth overall bid to the NCAA Tournament on Nov. 6, as the 16-team field for the 2007 NCAA Field Hockey Championships was announced by the NCAA Division I Field Hockey Committee.
The 12th-ranked Blue Devils will face seventh-ranked James Madison in opening-round action on Nov. 10, at the University of North Carolina's Francis E. Henry Stadium at 2 p.m. Should Duke advance, the Blue Devils will meet the winner of a first-round matchup between top-ranked North Carolina and Stanford on Sunday, Nov. 11, at 2 p.m.
Duke received one of eight at-large bids to the tournament, after five conferences were awarded automatic bids (Boston University - America East; North Carolina - ACC; Connecticut - BIG EAST; Iowa - Big Ten; James Madison - CAA) and six conferences competed for three play-in berths. The teams winning play-in berths were Massachusetts, Amherst, Ohio University and Stanford.
First and second round games will be played at four campus sites on Nov. 10 and 11, as North Carolina, Maryland, Michigan and Connecticut enjoy home field advantage. Maryland will host the semifinals and final contest on Nov. 16 and 18, respectively, at the Maryland Field Hockey/Lacrosse Complex.
Duke In The NCAA Tournament: The Blue Devils are 13-8 in NCAA Tournament games over eight appearances through the 2006 season. Duke earned its first NCAA berth in 1992, reaching the second round. The Blue Devils next made appearances in 1996, 1999 and 2002, and advanced to the championship game for the first time in 2003, before repeating that performance in 2004 and 2005. The 2006 Blue Devils fell just short of reaching the finals, as they suffered a 5-4 double overtime loss in the semifinals to host and top-ranked Wake Forest. Duke is one of just six teams in field hockey history to have made four consecutive appearances in the NCAA Final Four.
Scouting the Dukes: James Madison brings a national ranking of No. 7 into NCAA Tournament play, along with an overall record of 18-3. The Dukes received an automatic bid to the 2007 tournament by way of a 1-0 overtime triumph over Old Dominion in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Tournament championship game on Nov. 4.
JMU is led by junior Melissa Stefaniak, who has posted a team-high 29 points on a team-leading 12 goals and five assists on the year. Classmate Lauren Walls leads the Dukes in the assists category with eight helpers on the season. Goalkeeper Kelsey Cutchins is allowing just 0.76 goals per game and boasts a save percentage of .816. Both marks rank second nationally, as Cutchins has six shutouts to her credit in 2007.
Last Time Out: The 12th-ranked Blue Devil field hockey team fell to third-ranked Wake Forest by a 3-2 score in ACC Tournament action on Thursday, Nov. 2, at Boston College's Newton Campus Turf Field.
At the 17:43 mark, Melissa Martin scored an unassisted goal to give the Demon Deacons a 1-0 advantage then Hilary Moore found the net with 12 minutes remaining in the half to give Wake Forest a 2-0 advantage.
The Blue Devils cut Wake Forest's lead to 2-1 at the 28:39 mark as sophomore Lauren Miller found senior Shayna McGeehan for a tip-in at the right post.
Down 2-1 at the halftime break, Duke came out strong in the second stanza, as junior Ashley Pultorak netted her third goal of the season on a pass from classmate Laura Suchoski less than two minutes into the half to tie the score at two apiece.
The remainder of the contest proved to be a defensive battle, as senior goalie Caitlin Williams continued her stellar play in goal. McGeehan and sophomore Brooke Patterson each recorded defensive saves for the Blue Devils, while Duke's midfield and defense held steady inside and outside of the circle.
With 4:13 remaining, Wake Forest got a goal from Kim Romansky off a rebounded shot from a corner to take a 3-2 lead, an advantage that the Demon Deacons would hold on to for the victory.
Wake Forest out-shot Duke 26-6 for the game and held an 11-6 advantage in penalty corners. Williams made a career-high 13 saves for the Blue Devils, including nine in the second half, while Wake Forest keeper Crystal Duffield recorded two stops for the Demon Deacons.
Duke in the Rankings: The Blue Devils currently rank 12th in the STX/NFHCA Division I National Poll, as was released on Nov. 6. Three fellow ACC teams occupy the top three spots in North Carolina (No. 1), Wake Forest (No. 2) and Maryland (No. 3), while Connecticut and Iowa come in at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively. Duke has faced 10 of the 20 current ranked teams this season and will add one more to that list with Saturday's contest against James Madison (No. 7).
With six teams in the top 20, the ACC is currently the only conference in the nation with more than four ranked teams. The Big Ten (four) is next, followed by the BIG EAST (three), the America East (two) and the CAA (two). No other conference has more than one ranked team.
Duke 11th in NCAA RPI Ratings: The Blue Devils currently hold an NCAA RPI rating of 11th. North Carolina, Maryland and Wake Forest were rated No. 1 through No. 3, respectively, while ACC foes Virginia (14th) and Boston College (18th) were among the ratings as well. James Madison is 10th in the RPI ratings.
For full game notes, see attached PDF below photo.
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