For a team that has not lost a game this season when it has scored first, the No. 12 Blue Devils knew they would have a huge advantage if they got on the board early in Wednesday night's ACC quarterfinal match against 13th-ranked Boston College.
"We get confidence from any early goal," senior Carolyn Ford said. "We've had trouble finishing early."
The Blue Devils did not have to wait long.
In the fifth minute, senior forward Kate Seibert slipped a pass behind the Eagles' defense to midfielder Darby Kroyer. The junior corralled the pass along the left side and fired a shot toward the net, as Boston College goalkeeper Arianna Criscione desperately tried to make a play on the ball.
Criscione tipped it but could not stop the shot, as fourth-seeded Duke (13-4-1) took a one-goal lead on its way to a 2-0 victory over the fifth-seeded Eagles (11-5-2).
The Blue Devils beat Boston College for the first time this season, having lost to them in the teams' earlier meeting Sept. 30.
"We really talked a lot before the game started about getting the first goal and how important that first goal is," head coach Robbie Church said.
Duke advanced to the semifinals where it will face top-seed North Carolina (18-1-0), which defeated Maryland, 3-1. The Blue Devils were the only team to defeat the No. 1 Tar Heels during the regular season, but no college team has ever defeated North Carolina twice in the same year.
The top seeds advanced in the other two quarterfinal matches as well, setting up a match between Florida State and Virginia in the other semifinal. It is the first time since 1999 that the top four seeds advanced to the semifinals.
After Kroyer scored Duke's early goal, Boston College took control of the game for most of the opening half. The Eagles outshot the Blue Devils, 7-2, in the first 45 minutes, but Duke goalkeeper Allison Lipsher came up with two saves in the period to keep Boston College off the scoreboard.
"I thought we struggled a little bit, and we couldn't get ahold of the game," Church said of his team's play following the goal. "Boston College got a little bit of momentum and came at us in the first half. That second half was as good of a half as we've played all year."
The Blue Devils emerged from the locker room a re-energized team. After playing much of the opening stanza in their own half, Duke pushed the attack after the break.
In the 60th minute, the Blue Devils nearly netted their second goal of the game when forward Carolyn Riggs dropped a pass back to Kroyer, who rifled it at the net. But the shot sailed just to the left of the goal.
With 19:20 remaining in the game, Duke finally tallied the insurance goal it had been seeking. Boston College misplayed a ball, giving Seibert a good look at the goal. Her initial shot was blocked by Criscione, but forward Sarah McCabe kicked in the rebound to extend the lead.
"I knew eventually following every shot would pay off," McCabe said. "Every day at practice and every game I'm following the shots hoping that one time it's going to bounce off the keeper right to my feet, and it finally happened, and I'll take it."
The Blue Devils outshot the Eagles, 11-3, in the second half and 13-10 for the game, as they advanced to the semifinals for the fourth straight year.
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