Not even the blistering wind could stop the red-hot Blue Devil offense.
After scoring seven second-half goals in a losing effort against Syracuse April 3, Duke put up seven more in the first 30 minutes Saturday despite wind speeds that got up to 32 miles per hour, then sealed the victory with three insurance goals late in the contest.
The No. 13 Blue Devils lost a three-goal halftime lead, but recovered to beat No. 17 Boston College 12-8 at Koskinen Stadium on Senior Day. Sophomore Kyra Harney led the way with four goals and an assist, senior Maddy Acton added a hat trick and an assist and senior Kelsey Duryea came up with seven saves between the pipes.
The Eagles’ top playmaker—Sarah Mannelly—was ejected from the contest with about five minutes remaining in the first half after receiving her second yellow card of the afternoon, and the two teams combined for five yellow cards on the afternoon in a physical contest.
Faced with a 7-4 halftime deficit without its best player, Boston College came out of the locker room on a mission. The Eagles had averaged 14.4 goals per game in their last five matchups, but it was their defense that keyed the comeback effort, stymying the Blue Devils and giving the offense chances to operate. Boston College scored three straight goals coming out of the locker room to tie the game up despite being a player down for two minutes after a yellow card. But after a Duke timeout, the Blue Devils stormed back with two straight goals to reclaim the lead for good.
“[We had to] get everyone on the same page in terms of what we were trying to accomplish offensively and a couple of adjustments defensively kind of helped us gain back the momentum there,” Duke head coach Kerstin Kimel said. “In games like this—these tough and close ACC games—you need other people to step up outside and get things done.”
Coming off a career-high six goals in the loss to the Orange, Acton had the hot hand again for the Blue Devils (9-5, 4-1 in the ACC). With the Eagles opting to faceguard Harney and Kelci Smesko—Duke’s top two scorers—Acton teamed up with Maddie Crutchfield and Grace Fallon to keep pace with the high-octane Boston College offense.
Operating primarily just outside the 12-meter circle, Acton also served as a facilitator, making a key pass to Fallon to end a scoreless drought of more than 10 minutes in the second half following Kimel’s timeout to put Duke ahead 8-7.
“Offensively, [Crutchfield and I] have especially grown in our chemistry toward the end of this season, and it’s worked out great. We play off each other really well,” Acton said. “It gives me confidence that we have a great team offense…. No matter what the other team throws at us, we have an answer.”
The Blue Devils received contributions from several different players on the offensive end, highlighted by a tough goal converted by Hayley Shaffer to give Duke yet another two-goal lead late in the contest—just her fifth tally of the season.
After Mannelly was ejected, the game’s flow changed dramatically. Although Boston College (7-6, 1-5) did not score for the rest of the first half, opportunities opened up for the Eagles’ secondary scorers with Mannelly standing on the sidelines. Tess Chandler ripped two quick goals to start the second-half scoring—finishing with four on the day—and Kenzie Kent nearly doubled her seasonal goal output, adding three tallies of her own. But both players went quiet following Kimel’s timeout, as the Blue Devils altered their defense, frustrating the two Boston College players.
In her last regular-season game in Durham, Duryea turned in another stalwart performance, saving 46.7 percent of the Eagles’ shots on goal. Late in the game, with Boston College attempting to mount another comeback, the Beverley, Mass., native stonewalled the Eagles’ offense on point-blank opportunities—with her most important save coming with less than 10 minutes left to preserve a one-goal lead. On the ensuing Blue Devil possession, Shaffer scored to give Duke an important insurance goal.
“For [Duke] to be 4-1 in the ACC right now I think is an awesome accomplishment for us,” Kimel said. “For us to have won two really tough games against [Virginia and Boston College] is a testament to this team’s hard-work, character, willingness to continue to develop as the season has gone on and adapt.”
The Blue Devils have a week of rest before traveling to South Bend, Ind., to take on No. 7 Notre Dame Saturday at 1 p.m. in Duke’s penultimate regular-season contest.
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