Teams that visited the Final Four the previous season typically don’t have to think about play-in games in the conference tournament. But in a conference that boasts the nation’s top four teams, the third-ranked Blue Devils (15-3, 2-2 in the ACC) had to win Saturday to avoid the dreaded 4-5 game.
With a 3-0 shutout of No. 16 Virginia (10-9, 0-4) on Senior Day, Duke secured the third seed in next weekend’s conference tournament, where it will face No. 4 Maryland in the semifinals. The win forced Wake Forest, the team that beat the Blue Devils in the ACC and NCAA Tournament finals a year ago, to play in a 4-5 matchup against the Cavaliers Thursday.
“I think we are definitely a more championship-oriented program,” senior Chrissie Murphy said. “We almost use the season as preparation for postseason play, which is awesome. We definitely have clearer goals, and I think that we feel that our coach has more confidence in us to reach those goals.”
Duke dominated play early but failed to break the scoreless tie until less than a minute remained in the first half. The Blue Devils penetrated into Virginia territory and drew three consecutive penalty corners. On its third attempt, Duke ran a play for a direct shot on goal for heavy-hitter Gracie Sorbello. The senior back sent a hard, low ball toward the right post, and Murphy deflected it past the Virginia keeper to take a one-goal lead with nine seconds left.
“We weren’t able to clear the ball out on our defensive penalty corner unit,” Cavaliers’ head coach Jessica Wilk said. “We just gave up three right in a row right at the end, and they executed a nice corner.”
Katie Grant single-handedly put the game out of reach at the start of the second half with two quick scores. Within the first minute of play, Grant picked up a loose ball outside the circle. The junior forward dodged around her defender and fired a waist-high shot into the right side of the net. Just one minute later, Grant received a pass from junior Nicole Dudek and again beat the keeper from roughly the same spot on the field.
“At halftime, we talked about instead of looking for the final pass, just going for the shot,” Blue Devils’ head coach Beth Bozman said. “That’s what we needed because their goalkeeper doesn’t go down, she stays up.”
The Blue Devils were sloppy near the end of the second half, and Virginia had several chances to get on the board. A few diving saves from keeper Christy Morgan kept the shutout intact.
The final ACC standings have North Carolina on top with a perfect 4-0 conference record. Maryland, Duke and Wake Forest finished second, third and fourth, respectively, with 2-2 records. Goal differential and head-to-head matchups determined the seeding. Virginia rounded out the conference picture finishing fifth.
Although UNC had the best record, the ACC Tournament title could belong to any team.
“I think there is no clear favorite,” Bozman said. “[The Tar Heels] are seeded first, they’ve done a great job, they are a very passionate team this year. But there are four really good teams in this conference.”
Last season, the Blue Devils came on strong in the postseason, and they believe the pieces are in place to make a similar run.
“We’ve played them all before, so we know what to expect,” Grant said. “We need to remember what we learned last time when we played them, and capitalize on their weaknesses.”
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.