A standout performance from goalie Sara Addeche led the University of Louisville women’s lacrosse team to a narrow 14-13 win over Duke on senior day at the UofL Lacrosse Stadium.
The victory brings Louisville’s record to 5-10 overall and 2-6 in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), while Duke drops to 7-8 overall and 1-7 in ACC play.
Head coach Scott Teeter commended the team’s effort, saying, “Today, I thought it was an excellent team effort. A lot of adversity on both sides for us and Duke. It was a back and forth game. We had an answer, we had a response.” He added, “We sent our seniors off on a win. I couldn’t be more proud of our effort on both ends of the field and on our draw teams as well.”
Nicole Perroni started the scoring for the Cardinals just four minutes into the game. Duke responded with five consecutive goals before Hannah Morris scored for Louisville. The first quarter ended with a 6-3 lead for Duke.
In the second quarter, the Cardinals fought back with goals from Negai Nakazawa and Perroni, narrowing Duke’s lead. Perroni completed her hat trick with two minutes remaining in the half, and the Cardinals went into halftime down by two.
The third quarter showcased solid defense from both teams, with Allegra Catalano and Morris scoring for Louisville. Entering the fourth quarter with a 9-8 deficit, Perroni scored two quick goals, followed by another from Negai Nakazawa. Duke managed to cut the lead to 11-10, but goals from Kokoro Nakazawa, Izzy Seikel, and Negai Nakazawa secured the win for Louisville, despite two late goals from Duke.
Goalie Sara Addeche recorded a career-high 17 saves, tying the program record for most saves in a game, previously set by Rachel Florek in 2020.
Perroni led the offense with six points, extending her goal-scoring and point-scoring streaks to 34. Negai Nakazawa also had an impressive performance, scoring her first career hat trick and one assist.
The Cardinals honored 11 seniors before the game: Kristen Pezzulo, Hannah Morris, Alexa Steffens, Sydney Kirchenheiter, Allegra Catalano, Maggie Foster, Izzy Holmes, Rachel Lifson, Madi McKee, Ashley Osborne, and Nicole Perroni.
Louisville will face Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET for their final game of the regular season.
