This year's Mother's Day had the opportunity to prove especially sweet for Duke head coach Kerstin Kimel.
Playing the first round of the NCAA tournament for the 12th straight time, the Blue Devils hosted Virginia, an opponent that boasted an 3-0 record against Kimel's squad in the tournament.
But luckily for Duke, history would not repeat itself.
On Sunday, the No. 5 Blue Devils edged Virginia 15-13 at Koskinen Stadium in an overtime thriller that sent Kimel's team to the national quarterfinals.
Senior Lindsay Gilbride scored what would prove to be the game-winning goal in the first period of extra time. After winning the draw in overtime, Blue Devils (15-5) managed to draw a foul, and Gilbride converted on the free-position chance.
"When you're in overtime, the most critical thing is winning the draw and we were able to do that, and then possess the ball well in our offensive end," Kimel said. "Lindsay dodged hard, drew the foul, and finished, and when you're put in that situation you have to finish. To me that was critical."
After Gilbride's score, the Cavaliers (11-8) stormed down the field to try and to tie the game. Senior goalie Kim Imbesi, however, thwarted the comeback attempt by making a huge save that kept Duke in front.
"[Jenny Hauser] started to challenge and our defender had put good pressure on her and jammed her hands," Imbesi said. "[Hauser] then put a shot high left and I was ready for it, got there and made the save. We had practiced that particular play all week."
Despite the thrilling victory, Duke suffered a major setback in the first period. Five minutes into the game, the team's leading scorer, Carolyn Davis, left the game with a knee injury.
Kimel said Wednesday that Davis, a senior and Tewaaraton trophy finalist, had torn her right ACL and would miss the rest of the season. Davis missed part of the 2007 season with a torn ACL in her left knee.
Rather than letting the devastating injury hurt team morale, Davis' teammates rallied together as they have done all season.
The game's most critical moment occurred just before the overtime periods began, when the team got together in a circle. Imbesi, senior captain Jess Adam and sophomore midfielder Sarah Bullard took the lead in getting the Blue Devils fired up for what could have been their last six minutes of the season.
"To be able to be in that situation and having fun, when we got in [the hudle] Sarah, Jess and I explained this is what we work for all year," Imbesi said.
"We play for moments like this," the trio told their team.
The Blue Devils have at least one more opportunity to get themselves into a similar situation-in Philadelphia Saturday at 1 p.m., when they take on Pennsylvania in the national quarterfinals.
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