Charlottesville, Va. -- The 'Thrilla in Manilla,' 'The Rumble in the Jungle,'--and now 'Combat in Cavalier Country?"
Well, it's maybe not as catchy as Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier's trilogy of epic boxing brawls of yesteryear, but there was certainly a clash of two heavyweights at the University of Virginia yesterday at the 2003 ACC Field Hockey Championships.
And like Smoking Joe to the brash Ali, the second-ranked Duke field hockey team fell just short to No. 1 Wake Forest for the second time in three meetings this season, losing 3-2 in overtime to the Demon Deacons Sunday afternoon.
It was a bittersweet way to end the tournament for the Blue Devils, who were making their first appearance in the conference title game since 1990 after amassing the most wins in program history (17) and garnering their highest ranking ever--their current No. 2 position. Four schools from the ACC occupy the top-four positions in the national rankings.
"How much closer can you get?" Duke head coach Beth Bozman said. "From our standpoint, it [was] a great test for the [NCAA] tournament. It is unfortunate that we didn't win it, but it will prepare us for the tournament because I really think this is the championship game."
Bozman's squad will begin play in the NCAA tournament next week, where Duke will likely be selected as a host site for the first two rounds' play on the basis of the Blue Devils'probable seeding.
"I think that was the No. 1 and No. 2 teams playing each other, and I think it was a kind of preview of things to come," Duke senior defender Kim Gogola said. "It was kind of exciting...It's not the national championship. It's the ACC's. Yeah, we came in second, but it was overtime. We made a couple of mistakes, and they capitalized on our mistakes."
With the score tied at 2-2, the game moved into a seven-on-seven overtime. Duke had the first scoring opportunity of the extra period but was unable to capitalize when Gracie Sorbello sent a ball down field to streaking Blue Devils Katie Grant and Chrissie Murphy. However, Wake Forest defender Lucy Shaw was able to break up the Blue Devil run.
Duke would not get another chance to score as the action moved into the Demon Deacon's half of the field and the experienced Wake Forest team scored a sudden-death goal to win its second consecutive ACC Championship. Ariel Meyers fed a pass to Kelly Dostal who, amidst the melee in front of the cage, slammed the ball past Blue Devil goalie Christy Morgan.
"Coach is really proud of us and told us to hold our heads up," senior Kim Van Kirk said. "We have accomplished so much. We can only look ahead, so we aren't really going to dwell on this at all."
In the regular session, Wake Forest took a 1-0 advantage less than two minutes into the championship match. Katie Ackerman assisted Dostal on what would turn out to be the only goal of the first period.
The Blue Devils came out after halftime and quickly leveled the score, with Murphy serving as the offensive catalyst. The junior dribbled the ball down the left side, but her shot missed the goal wide left. On an ensuing corner opportunity, Bischof took the entry pass and set it for Sorbello. With a Demon Deacon defender rushing at her, the junior took a shot at goalkeeper Katie Ridd, who was able get in front of the blast. The rebound bounced out in front of the cage and Murphy knocked the ball into the back of the boards for the game-tying goal. Less than a minute later, Wake Forest came down the field with a breakaway, but Morgan came off her line, diving at the ball before the Demon Deacon forward could launch a shot.
Then, only four minutes after the Blue Devils scored their first goal, a breakaway materialized into another Duke tally. Murphy slipped through the midfield and was matched one-on-one with Ridd. The Duke forward dribbled in close to the goal, traversing from the right side of the net to the left, and snapped a shot into the goal.
"They really like to keep it in the middle so I knew going into the game that our coach really wanted us to use the width," Murphy said. "I know that I am faster than their right back so I just tried to beat her down the right sideline."
After the goal, Wake Forest ratcheted up its offensive pressure, earning four consecutive corners, but was unable to tie the score.
Then, with 17 minutes left in the game, the Demon Deacons evened the score when Lauren Crandall's shot ricocheted off a Blue Devil defender, flying past Morgan for the equalizing goal.
Both teams would have scoring chances in the final minutes of regulation, but neither team was able to break the tie.
"We weren't playing smart hockey," Bozman said about her team's play after it took a 2-1 advantage. "We weren't playing to our gameplan. We were really trying to preserve the win instead of going after it." But, despite the loss, the Blue Devils were pleased with their overall play and said they remain confident entering the NCAA Tournament.
"I think we are really confident about next weekend to win those games and hopefully head to Amherst for the Final Four," Murphy said.
To reach the finals, Duke knocked off third-ranked North Carolina Friday afternoon by a score of 4-3. Johanna Bischof, who leads the nation in assists, scored the game winning goal on a penalty stroke with 12 minutes remaining to send the Blue Devils to the finals. Bischof, along with freshman Hilary Linton were named to the All-Tournament Team.
"It was a hard-fought game," Bozman said. "It could have gone either way. The UNC goalie played a tremendous game, we just came out on top. This is a huge milestone win for our program."
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