The field hockey team rebounded from Saturday's loss to Old Dominion with a 5-2 victory over Virginia Commonwealth Sunday. The win snapped the Blue Devils' two-game losing streak and put them at 3-2 for the season.
"Coming off such a competitive game [Saturday], we were happy to have a win," head coach Liz Tchou said. "We were much more proactive in the second game, instead of being reactive, and created plays. We had good setups and assists and were happy to have support in the circle."
Midfielder Chrissy Ashley notched the first goal of the game with just under 18 minutes left in the first half. The Rams' Lauren Sparrow quickly responded with a goal four minutes later. With only three seconds remaining in the first half, sophomore Johanna Bischof scored off a penalty stroke to put the Blue Devils up by one.
VCU scored quickly after halftime, but Duke finished off with three unanswered goals, all assisted by freshman Katie Grant.
"We decided to take control and attack," Grant said. "We came out stronger in the second half. After they scored a quick goal, we dominated the rest of the game. In the first half, we didn't put on the pressure as much."
Playing in goal the entire game was freshman Christy Morgan, who recorded six saves on the day. She split the position with Erica Perrier the previous day.
"Both our goalies are excellent," Tchou said. "They are very close, ability-wise, and we just wanted to split the time and see what they could do."
Duke found itself at the mercy of second-ranked Old Dominion in its 8-1 loss Saturday. The Lady Monarchs scored three goals in the first half and the first two goals of the second before Duke found the net. Jessica Fluck scored off a deflection from Chrissy Murphy for the Blue Devils' only point of the day.
"They came out and set the tone from the beginning, and we backed off," Grant said. "We came out too slow and when we were able to compete, it was too late. We got a wake-up call with the loss and realized how much we need to work on."
The Lady Monarchs scored off half of their corner shots and outshot Duke 23-9. Morgan and Perrier combined for 11 saves, compared to ODU's five.
After opening the season with five road games, the Blue Devils return home this weekend for Saturday's game against Louisville and a Sunday contest versus Richmond.
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