The field hockey team started the ACC-Big Ten Challenge with a bang, but it ended its performance there with a whimper.
After recording its first win of the season with a 2-1 victory over 20th-ranked Iowa (0-1) Saturday, No. 18 Duke (1-2) fell to fifth-ranked Penn State (1-1) yesterday afternoon in St. Louis in a 1-0 shutout.
The Blue Devils believe that a lackluster showing in the first 35 minutes cost them the win over the Nittany Lions.
"We didn't come out hard and strong in the first half, and that gave Penn State confidence," coach Liz Tchou said. "We didn't play as sharply as we did against Iowa."
According to Tchou, Penn State also played a smoother passing game against Duke than it had in its season-opening 3-0 loss to defending NCAA champion North Carolina on Saturday.
Penn State midfielder Tracey Larson scored the lone goal of the game when she found the back of the net off a feed from midfielder Dawn Lammey at 17:05 in the first half.
"We allowed their right mid[fielder] to move around too much; we gave her too much room," Tchou said of Larson.
The Nittany Lions' offense kept the Blue Devils on their toes throughout the battle, outshooting Duke 16-10. Duke did, however, limit Penn State to seven corners, which Tchou said had been a weakness in the Blue Devils' contest with Iowa.
Duke picked up its game in the waning minutes of the second half, but was thwarted by crucial saves at the hands of Nittany Lion goalkeeper Jamie Smith. The Blue Devils found themselves unable to capitalize on any scoring chances. Tchou feels that her team will need to play at that level throughout an entire game in order to have a successful season.
"In the second half, the last 15 minutes, we played so hard," Tchou said. "We had many opportunities to tie the game, but we couldn't put the ball in. I was glad they ended up strong, but we have to play the whole 70 minutes with that same intensity.... We lost [Monday], but we know what we need to work on."
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