Nine minutes into the second overtime Sunday afternoon, Duke goalie Caitlin Williams deflected a shot from No. 3 Old Dominion into her own goal, handing the No. 5 Blue Devils (6-2) their second loss of the season.
The 4-3 loss Sunday came one day after Williams and Duke shut out unranked Appalachian State (0-6), 7-0.
"How does if feel to lose any game?" Bozman said. "It's not a good feeling. I think we played well today, and ultimately they won the game."
Until the second overtime, Williams had helped put Duke on the verge of its third consecutive win and an upset. She recorded eight saves and left the net several times to cut off breaks on goal by the Lady Monarchs (7-1). Williams' success ended, however, on Old Dominion senior Caroline Nichols' shot in front of the net.
"[Williams] had a number of one-on-ones and she stepped up to all of them," sophomore midfielder Marian Dickinson said. "She played awesome-no fault to [Caitlin] at all."
The Lady Monarchs outshot the Blue Devils in every period-both halves and both overtimes-putting pressure on a Duke defense that had recorded two consecutive shutouts coming into Sunday's game.
Despite Old Dominion's offensive pressure, the Blue Devils went into halftime ahead 3-1, courtesy of Dickinson's second hat trick of the weekend.
Dickinson's final goal, assisted by a long pass from midfielder Ashley Pultorak, came with just over a minute left in the first half.
But the Lady Monarchs defense would not allow another goal, and Old Dominion would tie the game on junior forward Shannon Mobley's goal midway through the second half.
"We just didn't adjust, and we allowed them to get back in the game," head coach Beth Bozman said. "They made some tactical adjustments, and we didn't adjust to it and they punished us for it."
Despite battling such a physical opponent into two overtimes, strong defense and exceptional play by Williams allowed Duke the opportunity to continue its home winning streak after shutting out Appalachian State. Although they missed the opportunity, Bozman said the loss was not a "let down."
"It's hardest to lose in a game like this when you're up and then they come back," Dickinson said. "It's hard just because you put everything out there, and you're up, and you should win."
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