Faced with a penalty corner five minutes into overtime against No. 14 BU, Duke diagrammed a play for forward Marian Dickinson. The attempt was unsuccessful, but the ball bounced out-of-bounds, giving the No. 15 Blue Devils another corner opportunity.
Instead of changing the plan, Duke ran the exact same isolation for Dickinson. This time, the junior fielded a pass from Lauren Miller and zipped it into the back of the net, handing the Blue Devils (7-5, 1-2 in the ACC) a 3-2 victory over the Terriers (9-3) Sunday afternoon in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
The win was the second of the weekend for Duke, as it also edged No. 10 Boston College 3-2. The triumph over the Eagles (7-3, 1-2) gave the Blue Devils their first ACC victory of the season.
"We knew that there was an awful lot riding on this weekend," head coach Beth Bozman said. "We knew that we had to get a sweep to have a chance to get in the [NCAA] tournament."
Although both contests were close, the win over BU was more climactic.
The first half went back-and-forth, with both squads trading scores in the first 30 minutes. Dickinson broke the tie at the 31:47 mark by converting a rebound off a penalty corner, which gave Duke a 2-1 lead that it took into intermission.
The Terriers came out firing in the second half and tied the game 2-2 within the period's opening 10 minutes. The remainder of the game was a stalemate, as both teams tightened up on defense. Senior goalkeeper Caitlin Williams was instrumental for the Blue Devils, recording eight saves after the intermission.
In the end though, Dickinson came through in the clutch for Duke. The gamewinner against BU was part of a huge outing for the junior, as she totalled four goals for the weekend.
"We came out with more urgency," Dickinson said. "We maintained intensity for 70 minutes and played better as a unit."
This intensity was especially evident in the Blue Devils' victory over Boston College. Duke scored in the first two minutes on a goal from freshman Susan Ferger and took a 2-1 lead into halftime. The Blue Devils extended their advantage to 3-1 six minutes into the second period and held on to win despite a two-goal effort from Eagle forward Bob Dirks.
For Duke, its start to the second half of the season was substantially better than its beginning to the first.
"These games were huge," Dickinson said. "This was a turning point in the season and gets us ready for next weekend."
This upcoming Saturday presents a huge challenge for the Blue Devils, as defending national champion Maryland visits Williams Field with a 12-0 record.
But, with two road wins under its belt, Duke feels up to the task.
"We're finally getting into rhythm," Bozman said. "Every win makes us more confident, stronger and more cohesive."
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