With the women's soccer team a single tick away from overtime, Duke's season came to an abrupt and shocking end.
One second before the end of regulation of the Blue Devils' second-round NCAA Tournament game, Yale's Laurel Karnes received a pass from Crysti Howser in the middle of Duke's box and fired a shot past Duke goalie Allison Lipsher. The score put No. 22 Yale ahead, 2-1, and set off a wild celebration.
"It was a bizarre scene," head coach Robbie Church said. "I think there is a tendency [for the defense] to let down and think, 'Here we go to overtime,' but obviously you can't do that."
The Bulldogs (15-3-1) will advance to the round of 16 next weekend, when they will face off against Notre Dame.
The sudden loss capped a year in which Duke (14-6-1) finished fourth in the ACC and defeated rival North Carolina for just the second time in school history.
"It's tough to lose an NCAA game because for seven of those girls on the field that day, their careers came to an end," Church said. "And then to lose it with one second left in a game is unbelievable."
The second-round defeat came after the Blue Devils rolled over unranked Fairfield 4-0 in the first round. Duke pounded away at the Fairfield (10-7-3) defense, firing 21 shots on its way to the blowout victory.
Although the game remained scoreless for much of the first half, the Stags never seriously threatened, as Duke's defense did not allow a single shot all game. Meanwhile, four different Blue Devils scored in the team's second-highest output of the season.
Duke did not carry over its offensive success from the first round to the Yale match. The two teams came out slowly, battling to a scoreless tie at halftime. The Bulldog defense held the Duke attack to just three first-half shots.
"They took us out of our rhythm in the first half," Church said. "I think we were timid, and we didn't play as hard or as aggressive as we had been."
Less than six minutes into the second half, midfielder Darby Kroyer scored off a loose ball in the Yale box to ensure the second half would not be scoreless as well.
It took less than two minutes, however, for the Bulldogs to answer. Yale freshman Natasha Mann netted her first collegiate goal when she fired a shot that snuck past Lipsher and into the lower right corner of the net.
"I think the turning point of the whole game was when they came back and tied it up," Church said. "It was such a huge goal for them because we had taken control of the game. They took back some of the momentum from our side to their side."
Duke regained control for the rest of the second half, earning four corner kicks and creating several scoring opportunities. The Blue Devils, however, were not able to take advantage of their chances, setting up Yale's stunning last-second goal.
"We didn't finish on a couple of late opportunities we had, and when you don't do that, you leave it open to something bizarre like what happened at the end of the game," Church said.
Although the stingy Duke defense held the Bulldogs to just six shots on net, the Blue Devils gave up multiple goals for just the third time all season.
The Bulldogs benefitted from home-field advantage despite the fact that Duke was the seeded team in the bracket. Yale was awarded the home match because the other three schools in Duke's draw are all located in Connecticut.
"I'd be lying to you if I said I thought it was fair. If you are a seeded team, you are seeded for one reason-because you've had a great regular season," Church said. "We were not rewarded for what we had accomplished in the regular season to have to go on the road for four days and play two games at the home field of someone that is as good as Yale."
Although Church said the unfair placement should not take away from the Bulldogs' exciting victory, he was not pleased with the condition of Yale's playing field.
"Their playing surface was atrocious," Church said. "It was not an NCAA-quality field. That was one of the frustrating things for me-we have a beautiful field in Durham, North Carolina, and nobody is on it."
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