The No. 12 Duke field hockey team took to the road this weekend and earned a split of games against fifth-ranked Maryland and Virginia Commonwealth.
In Sunday's contest at VCU, the Blue Devils (10-7 overall, 2-4 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) dominated the host Rams, scoring five goals in the first half en route to a 7-0 blowout win. Melissa Panasci, Caroline Helwig and Corey Ceccolini each scored twice for Duke, with Emily Ford tallying the final goal. Panasci increased her team-leading points total to 45, with a pair of assists. The Blue Devils outshot VCU 43-3.
Despite her team's large margin of victory, Duke head coach Liz Tchou was not completely happy with its performance.
"They're not as strong a team as us," she said. "It was obvious in the first minute. But the way we played against VCU was not up to the standard we set in the past."
Tchou said that she talked to her players at the half and was more pleased with their intensity over the final 35 minutes.
"It doesn't matter to me who they play," Tchou said. "They've got to get their focus up... and be ready to play."
On Saturday Duke visited ACC foe Maryland and quickly jumped out to a lead. Less than two minutes into the game, Mandy Schott scored off a pass from Melissa Panasci.
But the 1-0 advantage was short-lived. A goal from Maryland's Nadine Bennett, assisted by Sara Rosenwinkel, tied the score with 28:12 remaining in the first half. Just over ten minutes later the Terps took the lead for good as Rosenwinkel got her second assist of the game on a goal by Maryland's leading scorer, Lynsey McVicker. With 6:44 remaining in the half, Rosenwinkel and Bennett switched roles to give the Terps a 3-1 advantage.
Maryland held onto the lead in the second half as neither team was able to put the ball in the net. The Terrapins outshot Duke 21-7, avenging an early-season loss when Maryland, then the No. 2 team in the nation, fell to the Blue Devils 2-1.
"I think they were up for the game and more focused," Tchou said. "They didn't take us lightly like the first time... Maryland came at us unbelievably."
She added that she felt her team was emotionally spent after two big wins the previous weekend versus Temple and Villanova at Philadelphia. Duke also had to deal with an injury to center midfielder Cyndi Breyer on Saturday. Breyer sat out against VCU; Tchou said she hopes to have her back for Wednesday night's clash with top-ranked North Carolina, but credited the play of freshman Keri Dunn in Breyer's absence. Tchou also cited the performances of midfielder Lynn Schoenherr, back Trina Santomauro and goalie Brooke Fuller.
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