Georgetown had a obvious strategy in overtime, and it worked.
The Hoyas held the ball until the final seconds of the overtime period, and after the ball rolled past the front of the goal on a broken play, Catherine Elbe scooped it up. Elbe quickly shot the ball into the net to lift the Hoyas over the Blue Devils 13-12 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
"We just felt that because they were doing a good job on the draws and because our goalie struggled a little bit, we just figured lets try to win it with our offense," Georgetown head coach Kim Simons said about her team's strategy to hold the ball until the final minutes.
In the first portion of the overtime period Georgetown, after winning the draw, worked the ball around the perimeter for the majority of the three minute period. Duke goalie Megan Huether saved the Hoyas' only shot of the period with eight seconds remaining, forcing the teams to change sides and continue overtime.
Duke controlled the draw in OT and moved the ball around the perimeter before taking a shot early in the three minute session that was blocked by the Georgetown goaltender. The Blue Devils, however, recovered the rebound after a scramble in front of the net but turned it over just seconds later. Kimel's team would not control the ball again, as the Hoyas won the draw after scoring the game-winning goal seven seconds remaining.
The Hoyas (13-4) went on to defeat Maryland 14-10 in the second round and will play Virginia tomorrow in the Final Four. The loss marked the second time in two years Duke (13-6) was upset at home in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
"This is a completely different team than we had last year," Kimel said. "First of all, this group is really young, and it is the first tournament for a lot of them. To play a team like Georgetown, which is a team you would hope to see in the second round, was really challenging."
At the midway point of the second half, it looked as if even forcing overtime was a remote possibility. Georgetown had just scored to push its lead to 10-6 and had notched four of the previous five goals spanning the halftime break.
Then, in less than three minutes, the Blue Devils reeled off four consecutive goals to tie the game for the first time since early in the opening period.
"We took the momentum off the first goal and ran with it," Katie Chrest said, who scored to begin the spurt and again to level the score off of a free position attempt. "Everyone was working together."
With the game tied, Georgetown once again regained the lead and nearly scored again, but Huether broke up a pass that would have resulted in an easy shot attempt.
Duke then charged back into the lead with goals by a pair of freshmen. Leigh Jester scored off a free position shot and Corinne Broesler fed a cutting Michelle Menser, who gave Duke a 12-11 lead with a quick shot.
After the Blue Devils retained their slim advantage for four minutes, the Hoyas struck again. Sarah Oliphant slid a shot between Huether and the left post to level the score.
Georgetown controlled the ensuing draw, but Duke quickly stole the ball. Chrest's shot with under two minutes remaining resulted in a long rebound, but after passing the ball around the perimeter, Duke turned the ball over. The Hoyas held the ball to force overtime.
"In the second half we possessed a little bit more, we worked the ball into the hands of people that we wanted," Kimel said. "We found the shots that we wanted, and we were able to score because of that."
Despite being outshot 17-13 in the first half, turning the ball over nine times and struggling to coordinate their offensive attack, the Blue Devils only trailed 7-5 at halftime.
"We just didn't have it in the first half, and we just couldn't put things together," said senior Meghan Walters, whose Duke career come to an end Thursday.
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