Ten days ago, the field hockey team began its most crucial portion of the season looking to steal a win or two from three of the top four teams in the country.
But Sunday in Charlottesville, Va., No. 15 Duke (10-8, 1-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) wrapped up its regular season with its third loss in four games, this time by a score of 5-1 against second-ranked Virginia (17-1, 4-0). The win was the Cavaliers' ninth straight, their longest winning streak in 19 years.
"We weren't really effective," Duke coach Liz Tchou said. "We gave up the ball too easily. We picked it up in the second half but by then it was too late."
Virginia's Meredith Thorpe was the story of the game, as the All-American recorded a hat trick to become the all-time scoring leader in Virginia history.
She scored all three of her goals on penalty corners, including the game-opener 10 minutes into the first half. Overall, Virginia had nine penalty corners to Duke's three and the Cavaliers outshot the Blue Devils 11-4.
Virginia's first two goals, which came in the opening 12 minutes of the contest, were scored on Duke goalie Jenn Robb, who received her first start of the year. After the Blue Devils fell behind 2-0, Sarah Doherty returned to the cage.
"Our goalkeeping the last few games hasn't been strong," Tchou said. "Our goalkeepers need to buckle down and take care of those first shots."
Duke's only goal of the game was scored 16 minutes into the second half. Trailing 3-0, the Blue Devils cut the deficit to two when Melissa Panasci scored off an assist from Mary Jo Reider.
But the Cavaliers scored again three minutes later and added a final insurance tally with 11 minutes left in the contest.
The game wrapped up a frustrating close to the year for the Blue Devils, who are seeking a second-straight berth in the NCAA Tournament. They gave up five goals apiece in losses to Maryland, UNC and Virginia and were outscored 15-1 overall in those three contests.
"We're not taking control of the first 10 minutes," Tchou said. "We're just getting turnovers, and we're giving up too many corners. When we play in the moment, I think we play pretty well. But we're just not doing that right now."
Duke enters next weekend's ACC Tournament as the fourth seed. The Blue Devils will face fifth-seeded Wake Forest in the play-in game on Friday in Chapel Hill.
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