CHAPEL HILL - On paper, the field hockey team performed as expected in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament this weekend. Duke beat Wake Forest 3-2 on Friday but lost to Virginia (18-2) Saturday in Chapel Hill.
But there's more to the story.
Duke (11-9) was literally inches away from a stunning upset over top-ranked and top-seeded Virginia-inches to the left of the goal cage on Melissa Panasci's penalty corner shot three minutes into the overtime period.
"We said before we went out on the field, 'if we get a corner we win the game,'" midfielder Mary Jo Reider said about the overtime period. "It's hard walking off the field knowing we put so much effort in without a win."
However, the penalty corner combination of Emily Ford, Cindy Breyer and Panasci, which had worked 13 times over the season, failed twice in overtime as Duke lost 2-1.
A minute later, Virginia's Meredith Elwell, 1996 ACC Rookie of the Year, proceeded downfield and took a hard slap shot that went by Duke goalkeeper Sarah Doherty.
The two penalty corners that Duke had in overtime were two more than it had in the entire second half, as opposed to the 10 second-half Virginia corners.
Stopping those corners were Doherty and the Duke defense. Doherty, who didn't start when Duke faced Virginia in the final game of the regular season, stood rock-solid in the net through the Cavalier attack, making six saves in the game.
The second half began with the score tied 0-0, after Duke arguably dominated the first half. The start of the game was delayed by the double overtime thriller in the Maryland-UNC semifinal game. UNC won against Maryland, 3-2, and went on to win the Tournament on Sunday, 2-0, over Virginia.
To open the second half, the Cavaliers used a surprise air attack, flicking the ball 20 feet into the air on the pass back.
When the ball came down, Virginia's Michelle Vissuzo faked Doherty out left and shot right, breaking the 0-0 stalemate 22 seconds into the half.
With 14:15 left in the game, forward Corey Ceccolini knocked in Duke's lone goal, following a scramble in front of the goal cage to tie the score.
As the game went into sudden-death overtime, Duke had to choose its top seven players to put on the field. In field hockey, teams play overtime seven-on-seven, instead of the usual eleven players to a side.
When the Blue Devils walked off the field after Elwell's overtime goal, their attitude was sheer disbelief.
"I really thought we were going to win," coach Liz Tchou said. "There wasn't a second that went by that I didn't feel good about it."
Barring a minor miracle, Duke's season has ended with the loss to Virginia. Only 12 teams go to the NCAA Tournament, and although rankings do not completely determine NCAA seeds, Duke stands currently ranked at No. 15. For Panasci, the probable end to her Duke career has brought mixed feelings.
"It was bittersweet," she said through tears. "We were so close and we wanted to beat them so badly, just to prove to ourselves and the nation that we are a top-10 team, regardless of what our ranking is."
Panasci dominated the play-in game on Friday, scoring two goals, both on penalty corners, as Duke beat Wake Forest 3-2.
Although Duke trailed through the beginning of the game, Panasci evened the score 1-1 with four seconds left in the first half. Her overpowering shot was too much for the Wake defense to handle.
"It's like staring down a double-gauged shotgun," Wake Forest coach Jennifer Averill said of Panasci's shot. "She's got a great release on the ball on the corners and when it's accurate, you can go with a double-post, you can go with a single post, you can go with your keeper lying down, but she's going to find a way to put it in."
Forward Mandy Schott scored the game-winning goal, just as she had done in last year's ACC Tournament against Wake Forest (8-11).
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