A tight shot in close quarters both lifted Duke to a season-preserving victory in a contentious opening match of the NCAA tournament and avenged its early-season loss.
Sophomore Ashley Kristen sent home the game-winning goal in the 84th minute to give the No. 6 Blue Devils a 1-0 overtime victory against No. 13 Stanford in the first round of the NCAA tournament Saturday afternoon in Charlottesville, Va. Duke earned a Round of 16 date with site host Virginia Sunday at 2 p.m. for the right to advance to the Final Four.
“The first one’s toughest,” Duke head coach Pam Bustin told GoDuke.com. “[It’s] a one-game tournament and so we get to advance to a new tournament tomorrow and I think the mentality of finishing under these conditions, under the perceived pressure that’s here, it’s fun. The kids want it so bad and sometimes make them too tight but they stayed in and hopefully this loosens them up a little bit."
Kristen’s goal—the fourth game-winner of her career—came off a Blue Devil counterattack with less than two minutes to play in the first extra session. Senior Aileen Johnson fed a ball inside to Kristen, streaking in front of the goal, for a well-placed tap-in that decided the three-period affair. The goal avenged the Cardinal's 3-2 overtime win against Duke in Palo Alto from the season's opening weekend.
Despite holding a 7-2 advantage in shots and a 4-2 advantage in penalty corners through the first 35 minutes, Duke (13-6) could not capitalize on its scoring opportunities, forcing senior goalkeeper Lauren Blazing to make key stops to preserve a scoreless draw heading into halftime.
“I thought our defense was well organized and really played as a unit,” Bustin said. “They kept together as a group and not [as] individuals. I think that that’s the difference when you’re playing a team of good speed and good skill up front. You have to make sure the defensive unit stays tight and coordinated.”
The Blue Devils emerged stronger in the second half, as two shots careened off the post and junior forward Robin Blazing’s reverse attempt was saved. However, the fatigue of the frenetic first half became apparent when the Stanford offense began to seriously test the Duke defense. Senior Hannah Bareca’s defensive heroics kept Stanford off the score sheet in a key stretch of the game.
The Blue Devils had one final chance to close the game out in regulation—drawing a penalty corner inside the final two minutes—but could not end the battle inside of 70 minutes, sending the game to overtime.
“We’re really pleased and impressed with their fortitude throughout the entire game,” Bustin said. “We had so many opportunities. I’m very disappointed in our corner execution—credit to Stanford’s defense—we had our chances and they didn’t let that rattle them. They stayed on and kept believing that the pressure we were going to put on at some point was going to give us the result."
Before Kristen's goal gave Duke its first win in three tries so far this season in Charlottesville, the Blue Devils had to weather a look by the Cardinal. Junior Hunter Bracale stopped a Stanford run at the Duke goal and forward Heather Morris ripped a shot at the Stanford cage only to have it sail high. Stanford managed to sneak a shot past Blazing, but the officials called the goal back.
The Blue Devils finished with eight more shots and eight more corners than Stanford as Blazing recorded her fourth shutout of the season.
Duke looks to continue avenging losses from the regular season when it meets the No. 3 Cavaliers on their home turf Sunday. Virginia beat the Blue Devils 4-2 in the regular season and dispatched Duke 5-1 just last weekend in the ACC tournament. The Cavaliers needed overtime to beat Delaware 4-3 Saturday.
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