Duke returned home Sunday from its second weekend road trip in a row with its second-straight split.
The No. 12 Blue Devils (4-2) shutout Alabama-Birmingham (1-4) 2-0 Friday but suffered a last-minute loss Sunday afternoon to Kansas in the UAB Classic.
With just 26 seconds left on the clock and the score knotted at three, Kansas' Shannon McCabe sent a shot over Duke goalkeeper Allison Lipsher to give the Jayhawks (4-1) the lead at 4-3. The Blue Devils scrambled to push the game into overtime, but they could not deliver in the final seconds.
"We pushed some people forward, but with that much time left there's not much you can do," head coach Robbie Church said.
McCabe's tally was the last of a three-goal Kansas run in the game's final 21 minutes. The Blue Devils-ahead 1-0 for the entire first half-held the momentum for the majority of the game, but they were unable to close out the match in the second half.
In the 69th minute, freshman KayAnne Gummersall scored Duke's third goal to bring the score to 3-1. But the Jayhawks answered only eight seconds later when Holly Gault found the net for Kansas, cutting the Blue Devils' lead to one.
Gault's goal gave the Jayhawks the momentum they needed to rally and threw off Duke.
"We had done some really good things, but we're a little bit inexperienced in some positions, and we didn't handle it well," Church said. "It gave them new life in the game. We started getting hesitant and not making good decisions, and they could feel it."
Although the loss is Duke's second Sunday defeat following Friday matches this season--the Blue Devils fell to Connecticut Sept. 3--Church said the team showed some improvement upon its loss to the Huskies.
"For a long stretch of time, we did a lot of good things," Church said. "Kansas is a very disruptive team, a very physical team. We played through their tight marking better than when we played at Connecticut."
Duke had a strong performance Friday night when it shut out UAB. Lipsher recorded two saves and earned her third shutout of the season, and Duke outshot the Blazers, 9-4.
The Blue Devils were buoyed by goals from seniors Rebecca Moros and Sarah McCabe, who also added an assist. McCabe's goal came when she picked the ball from the Blazer keeper and put the shot away from six yards out. Moros and McCabe each have three goals on the season.
"Friday, we were really prepared for the game, we put our stamp on it early and had a very solid performance," Church said. "We played well Friday night. We dominated the match pretty soundly. I think we came out ready to play this weekend."
But even with a strong start to both matches this weekend, the Blue Devils were still disappointed with the result of Sunday's game.
"Nobody's taking it well," Church said. "Honestly, it's a game we should have closed out and won. But being in that position is part of the process and we need to learn from that."
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