SPORTS | LACROSSE
Duke women's lacrosse star Charlotte North transfers to Boston College
By Conner McLeod | July 30, 2019Duke lost arguably its best player in Charlotte North to Boston College.
Duke lost arguably its best player in Charlotte North to Boston College.
Saturday's loss to Virginia marked the final game in a Duke uniform for three-time All-Americans Cade Van Raaphorst and Brad Smith.
Although Duke lead for most of the game, the Cavaliers surged ahead for the win.
Duke is just one win away from returning to the national championship game, but a familiar foe in Virginia stands in its way.
With the win, Duke earned its second consecutive Final Four berth, and will next play in the NCAA championship semifinal May 25 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
The winner will move on to Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia for the Final Four, where they will play the winner of third seeded Virginia and Maryland.
Duke runs in the second and third quarters propelled the Blue Devils to an NCAA tournament victory.
The second-seeded Blue Devils will welcome Richmond to Koskinen Stadium Sunday at 5 p.m. in the first round of the NCAA tournament, the first of three games on the road back to the title game.
Duke picked up its first top 10 victory against Notre Dame.
For the third straight year, Duke was knocked off by Notre Dame in the ACC tournament semifinals after winning the regular season matchup.
For the second match in a row, Duke has failed to post a double-digit scoring output.
A dramatic goal from senior midfielder Brad Smith with just 31.2 seconds remaining in the first overtime period clinched the victory, which likely earned Duke a home game in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Duke will look to get back to winning the draw, which it failed to do for the first time this season against the Fighting Irish.
After consistently proving their skill against unranked opponents this year, the Blue Devils have struggled against teams in the top 25, going 1-6 in those matchups.
In the span of a minute, the Blue Devils went from down 6-5 to up 8-6, and the momentum was theirs.
Notre Dame's offense ranks No. 8 in assists, No. 7 in points and No. 3 in scoring margin.
While Duke's defense has consistently been able to show up this season, the Blue Devils need to find consistency on offense.
After a 9-0 run, the team’s 22 goals on the day marked their largest scoring output of the season.
Duke remained undefeated against four top-10 opponents this season.
If the Blue Devils cannot find that one player to lean on in times of struggle, they will have difficulties playing even tougher teams.