In an aggressive match played on a field with temperatures over 100 degrees, the 18th-ranked field hockey team gutted out a tough 1-0 win over William & Mary on a well-executed penalty corner shot by Corey Ceccolini.
"One of our goals for the game was to score off of a penalty corner," coach Liz Tchou said. "We accomplished some really good things in this game."
With 8:35 left in the first half, senior Emily Ford fed the penalty corner to the point. Courtney Sommer made the stop and Ceccolini fired the ball into the back of the cage, past Tribe goalie Erika Vargas.
The heat on Busch Field in Williamsburg forced William & Mary to substitute frequently in the first half.
Still, Tchou said she was impressed with the aggressiveness of the Tribe.
"This was a hard-fought game," Tchou said. "William & Mary played well-really aggressive. They did very well. This was the best William & Mary team I've seen."
Another highlight of the match for the Blue Devils was the stellar goaltending of Jenn Robb. The junior, who has been thrown into the starting goalkeeper spot this season, made six saves in recording the first shutout of her career.
"Jenn Robb played awesome," Tchou said. "She's been taking care of the first shot, making the first save and getting the ball cleared on the ground. Earlier this season, she wasn't clearing hard and the other team could get many shots on rebounds. Today they only got one shot."
The Blue Devils dominated the first half, outshooting William & Mary, 8-2. For the game, Duke held the edge in shots by a 16-7 count. Ceccolini and senior Mary Jo Reider paced the squad with six shots each. In another important statistical edge, the Blue Devils got one more penalty corner than the Tribe, 10-9.
Despite the highlights, Tchou said that she was not 100-percent pleased with her team's output.
"At times, we were a little bit panicked," Tchou said. "And we gave up nine penalty corners, which is too many. We need to do better on that. But I was very pleased with the way we moved the ball down the field."
The Blue Devils will play their next game on Wednesday, when they host Wake Forest at 7 p.m in Duke's ACC opener.
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