The field hockey team showed in the first half of their game Saturday that they had what it takes to beat an ACC contender. The Blue Devils also showed that they did not have the fundamentals to carry them through the second half, as they lost to fourth-ranked Virginia 2-1.
Coming off a 6-2 win against Richmond last Sunday, the Blue Devils (5-5, 1-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) carried that momentum into the first half. No. 10 Duke showed that it could compete with Virginia (10-1, 3-1 in the ACC), matching their skills and intensity.
With 18 minutes remaining in the first half, a foul gave Duke a penalty corner. Junior Melissa Panasci's shot into the corner was blocked by Virginia's goalie. Sophomore Mary Jo Reider scored on the rebound, lifting the ball into the goal off the goalie's pads.
Instrumental in shutting down Virginia in the first half were junior Cyndi Breyer, who guarded Virginia forward Michelle Vissuzo, and freshman goalkeeper Brooke Fuller, who made 12 saves in the game. The Blue Devils continued to have scoring chances throughout the half, and went into halftime ahead 1-0.
"I thought we had them in the first half," Duke coach Liz Tchou said. "We could have come out with two or three goals in the first half and that could have put us in a better position."
Duke began to slow down in the second half, and started to break down fundamentally. Blue Devil mistakes such as lifting the ball off free hits and slow footwork in the circle gave Virginia the advantage they needed to dominate. Both of Virginia's goals were scored off of penalty corners, resulting from Duke fouls inside the circle.
The first Cavalier goal, by sophomore Meredith Thorpe, came seven minutes into the second half. Senior Heather Hale hit the ball to Thorpe, who drove it hard and just off the ground by Fuller to tie the score at one. That goal was followed by another corner, with 17 minutes remaining in the half. The Cavaliers executed again, this time passing back to senior Heather Hale, to make the score 2-1.
Reider, who scored the goal in the first half, noted the team's lack of intensity in the second half.
"It seems like we only played seventy-five percent of the game," she said. "We couldn't keep our level up. We dropped a bit and that's when they began to take advantage."
The Blue Devils hope to bounce right back this week. They face Wake Forest twice-in Winston-Salem today at 4 p.m., then at home on Thursday-in a span of four days.
"We know we're such a great team," said Panasci. "We're going to play our hearts out against Wake."
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