The field hockey team showed why it deserves to be ranked 13th in the nation this weekend, as it defeated No. 19 Yale 2-1 Friday, but lost a 1-0 contest to sixth-ranked Boston College (13-2) yesterday.
"I thought we played really well this weekend," coach Liz Tchou said. "We got our passing game back. We also played better team defense, which was something that we definitely wanted to work on. It was a real positive week for us."
Duke (9-7) opened its weekend with a strong showing against Yale (9-3). Although they were outshot by the Bulldogs in the first half, the Blue Devils scored first when Johanna Ashley sent the ball past Yale keeper Erica Waples with just 44 seconds left until intermission. The junior's first goal of the season was assisted by Corey Ceccolini and Courtney Sommer.
Duke added an insurance goal at the 12:24 mark of the second half, as Keri Dunn sent a wailing shot off of a penalty corner into the back of the cage off another Ceccolini assist.
Blue Devil goalie Jenn Robb was denied a shutout as the final buzzer sounded when Yale's Sue Barnes knocked in a desperation penalty corner.
The Blue Devils were not as fortunate in yesterday's contest, however, falling just short against Boston College, 1-0. While Duke had many chances to score, and outshot the Eagles 13-10, the Blue Devils were unable to capitalize on their chances.
Boston College senior Joy Ramsbotham scored the game's only goal with 19:23 left in the game off a penalty corner.
"I thought they really fought hard and we outplayed them," Tchou said. "I thought that if we got one score in the first half that we would have taken them. We could have gotten maybe three up in the first half, but we kept them in the game."
While Duke had no problem pushing the ball upfield, it ran into problems when it got deep into the Boston College defense. The Blue Devils failed to capitalize on the nine penalty corners handed to them by the Eagle's defensive errors inside the 16-yard circle.
"We have to work on bettering our attack inside the 25," Tchou said. "I thought our forward movement could have been a lot better."
The Blue Devils also seemed prone to turnovers, which gave the Eagles some easy breakaways.
"When we don't take care of the ball, that ball goes right back in a very good transition," Tchou said.
Duke returns to action Tuesday when it travels to Appalachian State, before returning home to face Virginia and Princeton.
"We have a game against Appalachian State that we need to care of," Tchou said. "And then we're looking to upset [UVa or Princeton]. That's one of our goals."
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