Through the first half the Duke defense clamped down and goaltender Megan Huether stopped 15 Maryland shots as the women's lacrosse team built a five goal advantage. The early lead was enough to hold off a late Terrapin charge, as No. 4 Duke (3-0, 1-0 in the ACC) opened its conference season with a confidence-building 9-7 victory over second-ranked Maryland (1-1, 0-1) Sunday afternoon in Koskinen Stadium.
"We wanted to have a huge presence out there," Meghan Miller said. "We started off really well. We were really loud and communicating and had good body language. All that translated into having a presence and causing them to turn the ball over a little bit and just ended up in a "W" in the end."
The Blue Devils dominated the first half from the outset. Cheryl Lynn Horton opened the scoring on a bounce shot less than a minute into the contest.
Duke scored again, but the Terrapins quickly answered on a goal by Kelly Coppedge that would be Maryland's only tally of the first half. Neither team could get a ball into the net during the ensuing 10 minutes, but the Blue Devils dominated the time of possession, as they did throughout the matchup.
Then Duke's offensive patience paid dividends, as Miller scored her first of two goals on the afternoon after the Blue Devils worked the ball around the perimeter. The goal, which gave Duke a 3-1 advantage, prompted Maryland head coach Cindy Timchal to call a timeout--a respite the Blue Devils said played to their advantage.
"I think after they called a timeout we were just like, 'This is our chance to turn it on and really show them what we got.' We did that for the majority of the game; it showed in the end and that stretch was key to the win," Miller said.
Energized and focused after the timeout, the Blue Devils earned a cushion with two goals in the final three minutes of the first half. The second, coming with just 15 seconds remaining, was the result of an isolation set for leading scorer Katie Chrest.
The Blue Devils came out in the second period and traded goals with the Terps for the first 17 minutes of the stanza, showing continued patience offensively.
"When playing against Maryland the key to their game is going to be possession, and we knew that coming in," said Chrest, who was one of four Duke players with a pair of goals. "We knew that that was going to be one of the keys and that was going to win the game."
Jessica Dorney led a late Terrapin charge, as Maryland chipped away at the Blue Devils' lead, with three goals in the final eight minutes. After Laura Warren's shot off a rebound sailed past Huether to cut the lead to two, the Duke defense came up big as it had done all game.
"I was nervous, but I knew we had the momentum and the emotion and the fire behind us," said Chrest, who was forced to watch from the bench after picking up her second yellow card of the contest late in the second half. "I was very confident in the girls that were out there."
Down the stretch and especially when the Blue Devils broke open the game in the latter stages of the first half, Huether's saves were key to the upset victory.
"Huether was awesome," Miller said. "She was just all over the place making huge saves, and she was what fueled our offense. She would come up with the ball, make a huge clear and that was what fueled our transition offense."
The win gives the Blue Devils the lead in the chase for the ACC title and will likely boost their ranking, but the team understands that the season is still young.
"It feels great, but it is early and we still have to remember that," Chrest said. "The biggest thing we are taking away from this game is that we beat them, but we still have a lot to work on and we know that both teams are going to improve throughout so it is not going to tell anything for the postseason or anything. We still have to keep working."
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