Arielle Brackett looks to shoot against Cornell's Karen Swetland

2012 National Collegiate Club Championship Schedule & Results

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Arielle Brackett (Fr., Ventura, Calif.) and Bobby Sanders (Gr., Morrisville, N.C.) both scored four times to share Player of the Game honors as No. 17 Duke University picked up a 9-7 victory over Cornell University in the consolation round of the 2012 National Collegiate Club Championship at Florida State University.

The victory moves the Blue Devils into a 2:50 p.m. matchup on Saturday, May 5 versus No. 6 University of Notre Dame in the second round of the consolation bracket with , a berth in the ninth place game on the line.  Cornell will meet Wellesley College a 9:50 p.m. in a 13th place game as the winner of the game will tie for 13th in the final tournament standings, while the loser will tie for 15th. 

Due to pool availability issues, the tournament does not play out the 13th and 15th place positions in the 16-program championship field.

Duke never trailed in the meeting against the Big Red as the Blue Devils burnt Cornell with a 3-0 run in the first quarter to take the lead for good.

Sanders started the opening spurt by burying a five-meter penalty shot with 3:57 left in the opening frame for a quick 1-0 lead. Brackett bashed in an even-strength tally at 1:41 before tacking on a man-up marker with 47 seconds left in the period to give the Blue Devils the momentum and a 3-0 lead.

Cornell cut into the lead to start the second quarter as Mallory Matsumoto (Sr., Charlottesville, Va.) sprung loose from the Duke defense and dumped a shot over the head of goalie Sarah Pilzer (Gr., Atlanta, Ga.) with 4:43 on the clock to make it 3-1. 

Sanders returned the lead to three at 4-1 with her second strike of the evening, but Brie Reid (Sr., Northbrook, Ill.) responded in kind at 2:13 with an advantage score to shave the margin down to 4-2. 

Duke closed the period and the first half with consecutive tallies in the final minute from Sanders on a five-meter penalty shot (47 seconds) and Justine Sinnaeve (Jr., Troy, Mich.) at even-strength (four seconds) to make it a 6-2 game at the break.

Cornell refused to roll over, however, as Diana Foster (Gr., Wilmette, Ill.) tossed across a man-up goal at 6:31 of the third quarter to move the Big Red within 6-3 and apparently shift the momentum to her squad.

Needing a mini-run to stake Cornell's comeback hopes, Brackett rocked the cage with blasts at 6:07 and 5:23 to net the eventual game-winner make it 8-3 through 21 minutes of play.

The margin expanded to 9-3 to begin the fourth period as Sanders slipped in her fourth marker of the night, but Cornell closed the game with goals from Foster (5:33), Yiwen Ng (Sr., Singapore) (3:27) and Michelle Parke (Fr., Honolulu, Hawaii) (1:43 - man-up, 1:18) to pull within two of the Blue Devils prior to running out of time on the game clock.

Overall, Parke and Foster led the way for Cornell with pairs of goals, while goalie Karen Swetland (Gr., Cooper City, Fla.) turned aside four shots.

Sarah Pilzer (Gr., Atlanta, Ga.) earned the win for Duke as she notched 10 saves, including seven in the fourth period alone, to stymy the Big Red down the stretch and hold on for the victory.

Duke Goals: Arielle Brackett (4); Bobby Sanders (4); Justine Sinnaeve

Cornell Goals: Michelle Parke (2); Diana Foster (2); Yiwen Ng; Brie Reid; Mallory Matsumoto

Saves: Duke -  Sarah Pilzer (10) ; Cornell - Karen Swetland (4)

Exclusions: Duke - 6 ; Cornell - 9

Advantage Opportunities: Duke - 3-for-9 ; Cornell - 3-for-6

Sprints: Duke - 0-for-4 ; Cornell - 4-for-4

Officials: Humberto Navarro, Vern Heimbigner 

Cornell University's Orbi Ish-Shalom looks to pass around Duke University's Arielle Brackett