The Blue Devils taught Virginia a lesson about the importance of quality over quantity Saturday night and, in the process, put an end to their four-game scoreless slump on the road.
Third-seeded Duke defeated the second-seeded Cavaliers 2-0 in Charlottesville, Va., advancing to the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament for the second straight year.
The Blue Devils (15-5-3) got there by capitalizing on the few scoring chances they were able to create against a tough Virginia squad, something that head coach Robbie Church had been emphasizing in practice all week.
"They're one of the perennial collegiate powers every year," Church said of the Cavaliers (15-5-3). "We knew we probably weren't going to get a lot of opportunities, but when we got chances, we had to finish those chances."
And Duke did just that, turning four shots into two goals and defeating a team it had played to a 0-0 draw Oct. 30.
The Blue Devils turned the tide of the match in the 17th minute when senior midfielder Lorraine Quinn won a tackle and sent a cross to the box that found junior forward KayAnne Gummersall. Gummersall chipped a one-timer over the goalkeeper and into the net, tallying what would ultimately be the game-winning goal. It was Gummersall's team-leading 14th score of the season, moving her up to fourth on Duke's single-season goal list.
"The first goal changed the complexion of the game," Church said. "They were sharp early and we got them; it really changed the whole momentum of the game. It gave us belief, energy and kept us fighting."
Duke's score ended a barrage of shots from Virginia, which launched four consecutive strikes within a six-minute stretch. The last of these almost cost the Blue Devils in the 14th minute, when the Cavaliers' Meghan Lenczyk put the ball past senior goalkeeper Cassidy Powers, only to watch senior defender Kelly McCann clear the shot in mid-air as it was crossing the line.
The Blue Devils put Virginia away for good in the second half when junior midfielder Elisabeth Redmond collected a loose ball at the top of the box and blasted a shot from 20 yards out that faded away from the keeper into the side netting. The strike was the team's only shot in the period.
Even though the offense boasted an impressive conversion rate, it was Duke's defense that preserved the victory by preventing the Cavaliers from creating quality chances of their own.
The back four turned in one of their best performances all year, Church said, and worked to make Virginia's 15-4 shot advantage the most misleading statistic of the match.
Out of those 15 shots, only four were on target, whereas each of the Blue Devils' four shots was directed on goal. Despite racking up nine shots in the second half, the Cavaliers never really challenged Powers after Lenczyk's early attempt. Powers made three saves on the night and posted her ninth shutout of the year to match the Duke single-season record.
The team had five days between its second-round victory over William & Mary and Saturday's contest, allowing the Blue Devils to get some rest before traveling. The break was a luxury they did not have when five out of their last six regular season games were on the road.
"We had a brutal stretch at the end of the year," Church said. "What's key for us is fresh legs and feeling good, and those are two things we've had these last 10 days. We made better decisions on the field [against Virginia], and we were able to work harder off the ball for each other."
After bucking a negative road trend with its season on the line, Duke will have to carry that same resolve into its next contest against top-seeded UCLA Saturday in Los Angeles.
But Church was quick to express his admiration for what his team has accomplished thus far, no matter the outcome of Saturday's tilt.
"I'm not sure in my eight years if I've ever been more proud of a team," he said. "We're the team that showed the biggest heart, and that's why we're still playing this time of year."
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