As the clock ticked down to zero on a frigid night in South Bend, Ind., the book finally closed on an improbable hot streak in the NCAA tournament for Duke. Over the last few pages of the season, the Blue Devils erased the memories of a mediocre regular season with a strong postseason run.
Duke (10-6-7, 3-3-4 in the ACC) finally broke out in the tournament, advancing to the national quarterfinals and narrowly missing out on a bid to the Final Four. All of this came from an unranked squad that had the fewest victories of the 64 teams in the NCAA tournament. While the Blue Devils were certainly heartbroken after erasing a 2-0 deficit and falling just short at the end of the game against the Fighting Irish, no one could deny that the season had been a successful one, head coach Robbie Church said.
"It really was a magical run," Church said.
The sudden success may have seemed to come out of nowhere, but the Duke players insisted that all the necessary ingredients had been in place throughout the entire season.
"We knew that if we played with heart and passion and gave everything our all, we had the skill," junior Kelly Hathorn said. "Everything else would fall into place. Basically, we've been doing that all season, and finally, in the tournament, all the hard workpaid off. We just believed in ourselves."
Duke also believed in its senior goalkeeper Allison Lipsher throughout the season as well. Up to the last contest against the Fighting Irish, Lipsher had not given up more than two goals in any game this season. She ended her career with 33 shutouts, one shy of the Blue Devils' career shutout mark and two short of tying the ACC career record.
Church said Lipsher led the young Duke squad by example, working hard in the weight room, out on the practice field and during the games. Lipsher never took a play off, and at the end of the day she was pleased with her and the rest of the team's performance.
"No regrets," Lipsher said. "I couldn't have asked for a better team to end [my career] with. This team is absolutely phenomenal."
The Blue Devils posted 10 wins for the fourth time in the past five years. Sophomore Elisabeth Redmond, the team's leading scorer, finished the season with 12 assists, good for second in school history. Her eight goals and four game-winners also topped the team.
The season was full of ups and downs for the inexperienced Blue Devils. Duke initially struggled to find the back of the net, scoring just one goal over its first four games, but it had a breakout 6-0 win over Elon Sept. 13. The win propelled the team to a four-game winning streak before falling to then-No. 4 Virginia 2-0.
The next game, a double-overtime win against Virginia Tech, started a stretch of seven overtime games in 11 matches, including four that were still deadlocked after 120 minutes. The team finished with seven ties on the season, the most ever in the program's 20-year history.
Lipsher said she thought the struggle for success ended up helping the team in the long run.
"We spent most of the year learning how to fight and learning how to win," Lipsher said. "All the hardships we had to go through-all the overtimes, the penalty-kick shootout-just helped us grow up so fast."
The growth should serve as a springboard into next season. Duke loses only one starter, Lipsher, and one other senior, seldom-used forward Andrea Crane. The Blue Devils should be in prime condition to return to the final rounds of the NCAA tournament.
And right after the final whistle against Notre Dame, Church was already eager to get back on the pitch.
"It's been a long season and a great season, but I'm anxious to get back at it," Church said. "We've got a lot of talent coming back, and we're going to have high expectations.... I'm looking forward to next year already."
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