The 13th-ranked Blue Devils stepped off the bus in Charlottesville, Va., with a vengeance against their old-time ACC rival, No. 15 Virginia. Despite a powerful first period, Duke fell to the Cavaliers 16-11 after a drastic comeback in the third quarter.
Like clockwork, the Blue Devils continued to find a lane to the middle of the Cavaliers’ goal throughout the first 15 minutes. A first goal by Reese Woodworth, assisted by Eva Pronti, ignited the scoring streak. Less than a minute after Woodworth's first goal, Pronti decided to take matters into her own hands and found the back of the cage. With an early two-goal lead for Duke, Pronti resumed her distributing duties and assisted four more Blue Devil goals in the opening period.
At 7:28, Callie Hem notched her first goal, assisted by Pronti, and broke through Virginia's faulty defense to score the last goal, sealing Duke’s 6-0 lead in the second quarter. Hem’s four scores in the contest brought her season total to 28.
“I think that the connection between Pronti and Hem really showed in this game. Eva did a great job of capitalizing possessions and feeding Hem the ball,” head coach Kerstin Kimel said.
Fast forward to the third quarter, and the Blue Devils' seemingly unstoppable winning streak flipped entirely upside down, resulting in their ultimate defeat. The Cavaliers embarked on a game of copycat, owning a scoring streak.
To rewrite the scoreboard for her team, Virginia attacker Jenna Dinardo rolled the ball into a goal after barely breaking through Duke's defensive wall, closing the gap to 10-9. In a question of whether Virginia could find an equalizer or if the Blue Devils would end the comeback, Cavaliers’ midfielder Abby Manalang answered with another score.
“We watched the Virginia players come out for the second half with the energy and mindset ready to play,” Kimel said.
Duke needed a fresh change. After the Cavaliers reached a lead of 15-10, senior Mattie Shearer tallied her first goal in the fourth period to give the visitors a reprieve. Working against the clock, the Blue Devils scrapped a few more attempts to slow down the sudden push from the Cavaliers.
Goalie Kennedy Everson saved a shot, but Duke could still not move past the sudden power of Virginia's defense and the game ended 16-11.
The Blue Devils' strongest plays were undoubtedly in the first period. Their 6-0 lead looked like the team that pulled off an upset against then-No. 6 Clemson and a dominant defeat of Campbell.
“I was surprised that we were not able to respond to a team when they are making a run on us, because we’ve been in close games where we’ve really fought hard to make a comeback,” Kimel said.
Sandwiched between Hem's goals in the first quarter, Bella Goodwin drove to the center of Virginia's crease — the fourth goal of the game and her 26th of the season. All five of Duke's opening shots were on the goal, and three of them found the back of the cage.
The initial turning point against the Blue Devils came at the opening of the second period, when Virginia's score still read zero. Just 36 seconds into the frame, Kate Galica got her team on the scoreboard and broke Duke’s streak. Still playing a game of catch-up, Galica mustered up her second goal of the match, bolstering the score to 9-2, with the Blue Devils still in the lead.
Although Duke was still leading, Virginia seemed to be warming up to the Blue Devils' strong offensive walls. Manalang notched two goals for the Cavaliers, scoring a win for the home team in the second quarter.
At the third quarter's opening, fans from both sides waited to see which team could make the right adjustments. Virginia’s Addi Foster quickly served an answer to this anticipation. With 14:28, the Cavaliers continued on their path to closing the scoring gap.
Success met the Cavaliers, who solidified a 14-10 lead at the start of the fourth quarter. The Blue Devils could not find the same rhythm they displayed in the first period and fell to the Cavaliers under the pressure of the clock.
“I’m disappointed we did not respond to Virginia, but that’s obviously something we’ve got to learn from this game, and move forward,” Kimel said.
Kimel and her team will have an opportunity to reclaim their winning streak in a matchup against Cal in Koskinen Stadium.
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