Sometimes things just work out perfectly.
When the field hockey team scheduled its inaugural home opener on the East Campus Turf Field for a night game, it had hoped to draw some fans. At least more than its normal contingent of family and friends. On Friday night, the Blue Devils defeated No. 2 Maryland 2-1 before a crowd of nearly 500, one of the largest crowds to witness a Blue Devil field hockey game in recent memory. And junior Melissa Panasci's game-winning goal with only 2.9 seconds left on the clock probably won't hurt return business.
With the game knotted at 1-1 and time ticking down, the Blue Devils finally penetrated Maryland's circle earning Duke a penalty corner and a final chance to win in regulation. The corner was officially whistled with 18 seconds remaining in the game.
Similar to a corner kick in soccer, time does not stop in order to set up a penalty corner. While the Blue Devils hustled up field to set up the corner, the Terrapins resembled their namesake, as they were as eager to get in position as a kid who is walking to his first day of kindergarten.
"We had to get down to that circle because the clock is still running," senior captain Jodie Taylor said. "I am thinking that this is going to go in. This has to go in."
Sophomore Emily Ford, who would drag the ball, ran over to the corner while senior Alison DeLeo set up as the stopper. Panasci moved up in the hitting position, as the Terrapins finally meandered into their own circle. The clock now closed to under ten seconds.
"I knew that we had to get the corner off quickly," Panasci said. "I was looking at the clock the whole time. Emily was already on the end line and [Maryland] was walking so slowly. When I turned around we had about five seconds, and Emily hit it out."
DeLeo stopped the ball cold, and Panasci displayed why she might be the most lethal hitter in the country. Unlike Maryland, the Blue Devils rarely run a fake hit off a corner or employ any kind of trickery. Panasci simply winds up and hits the ball as hard as she can. Maryland knew what was coming.
After watching Duke's first five corners, even someone watching his first field hockey knew what was coming. And if knowing is half the battle, then the Terrapins know that the other half of the battle is finding someone to stop Panasci's shot. To say Panasci hits the ball hard would be like saying Randy Johnson doesn't throw the baseball that hard. As the shot clanked off the back of the wooden cage, the crowd erupted. A few spectators, not quite sure of the proper protocol for field hockey, thought about rushing the field but instead just stripped off their shirts.
"It kind of felt like when we scored against Korea in the Olympics," said head coach Liz Tchou, a member of the 1996 U.S. Olympic field hockey team. "It was tied at 2-2 and we scored with seven seconds left. I was so happy then. And I am so happy now for [Duke], but I don't see this as my win."
The Blue Devils christened not only their new field but also the night with as dramatic a win as the players could imagine. After dropping two of its first three, Duke (2-2 on the season, 1-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) finally proved to itself and to the rest of the conference that it can play with teams that have won national championships.
"I am so proud of them and their effort," Liz Tchou said. "I am so happy for them because their effort has consistently been there but it hasn't always paid off. Against ODU, we played well but we didn't come away with a win. I really don't care about outcomes, but I really wanted them to win tonight. We wanted to keep the effort but let's think about winning, just a little bit."
The Blue Devils appeared to be headed for another loss, however, when the Terrapin Caroline Schwartz scored with only 5:48 remaining in the game. Only 36 seconds later, Panasci tied the score at 1-1 off another penalty corner assisted by DeLeo.
Referred to as Duke's "bread and butter" by Tchou, Panasci has already recorded eight goals on the season, most of which stem from corners.
In the final few minutes, neither team was able to mount a significant offensive threat as overtime approached. Tchou even asked assistant coach Stacy Gilburg to prepare an overtime lineup. But Duke would solve Gilburg's task.
After time had expired, ensuring the Duke win, the Blue Devils went over and applauded their new-found fans. An act that they would probably not mind repeating.
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