Field hockey upends No. 5 ODU

With the score notched at 2-2 and less than two minutes remaining in regulation, Gracie Sorbello slammed a corner opportunity into the back of the net to catapult Duke over No. 5 Old Dominion (4-4) Sunday at Williams Field.

The win represents the biggest victory for the No. 4 Blue Devils (5-1, 0-1 in the ACC) under first-year head coach Beth Bozman. The outcome also validates the team's ranking and shows the country that the Blue Devils will be a championship contender this season. 

Yesterday's victory is particularly special for the team because it avenges the squad's 8-1 loss to the Monarch's last year.  

   "Oh my gosh," Johanna Bischof said. "In the locker room before we started all we said was revenge from last year. It was embarrassing last year. This was one of the marquee teams we wanted to beat." 

Sorbello's finish off a corner was even more satisfying after the team failed to convert its first 18 opportunities of the game. 

"We had 19 corners, you think after a while they are going to go in," Bozman said. "When our timing is down, it is almost impossible to stop, and they were looking for options. We had been trying to work the ball around and look for options so we thought they weren't expecting a straight shot." 

The go-ahead goal by the Blue Devils came less than three minutes after the Monarchs tied the score at 2-2.  

With Duke holding a narrow lead at 2-1, the team sat back a little on defense, but Old Dominion answered with its most prolific offensive flurry of the game.

"It is difficult mentally to be in this position where you see your first huge win for the program and go play not to lose, and we did a little bit, and they were able to tie the score because of it," Bozman said. 

And after a number of missed opportunities, including a misplayed breakaway, the Monarchs finally connected when the ball dribbled parallel to the goal line and Old Dominion's Katie Claxton tapped it into the right side of the goal.  

"I thought the ball was out and it slipped under my arms, so I probably should have had it, but a win is a win," goalie Christy Morgan said. 

Coming into halftime, Duke was down a goal after the Monarchs scored in the opening minutes of the game, but the Blue Devils tied the game just 35 seconds into the second period.  

They took the restart down the field, and Bischof crossed the ball to Chrissie Murphy, who tallied her sixth goal of the season. 

From there, the Blue Devils continued to have opportunities to score, but missed the net on several such chances.  

With 15 minutes remaining in the game, Bischof dribbled the ball down the left-center portion of the field, moved to the center and shot from the top of the circle. The ball eluded a number of Monarch defenders and frozen goalkeeper Tina Walker to give Duke a 2-1 advantage. 

"We knew that the way they were dropping defensively," Bozman said. "They were dropping into a circle and really trying to front our attack players, so we thought they were opening up space at the top of the circle and trying to get our midfielders to carry a little bit and hit the shots, and [Bischof] just followed instructions."  

Things did not go as smoothly for the Blue Devils offensively in the first half. In the first 35 minutes, Duke had 14 penalty corners, but did not find the net on a single such chance.  

"I think there were a lot of missed opportunities, and I think we could have won some 50-50 balls in the beginning," Bozman said. "But getting over the first big game--make no mistake--beating Old Dominion is a huge win for this program, so getting over that first one is always a difficult task and it makes the next one easier." 

The win, especially with the close nature of the game and the dramatic finish, represents a major hurdle crossed for this program which is looking to break into the upper echelon of collegiate field hockey. 

"We are not used to being as good as we are this year," Bischof said. "A big part of it is mentally beating the big teams. This is our first really big win so I feel like it is just going to get a lot easier from after this." 

Jesse Colvin contributed to this story.