Duke entered the weekend looking for a marquee victory, but despite two strong efforts against top competition, the Blue Devils came up short.
After a 3-0 loss to No. 1 Maryland Saturday at Williams Field, Duke battled No. 2 North Carolina Sunday and lost 2-1 in the final minutes of the second half. It was an emotional ending to seniors Lauren Miller and Amie Survilla’s last regular season home game, as Miller was injured in the final minutes of the second half and the Tar Heels capitalized with a goal seconds later.
Following a 7-0 loss to North Carolina (13-0, 5-0 in the ACC) earlier in the year, Duke brought a new energy to the field on Senior Day against the Tar Heels.
“We basically changed up our whole plan from last time,” Survilla said. “Maybe one thing we were lacking was the fight and we just came out and gave them a run for their money today.”
The Blue Devils (6-7, 0-4) didn’t let an early goal by North Carolina junior Katelyn Falgowski disrupt their game plan. Survilla responded several minutes later with an unassisted goal. At the end of the first half, Duke was outshooting the Tar Heels and both teams had three penalty corners.
In the second period, both teams had multiple scoring chances and Blue Devil goalie Samantha Nelson made several crucial saves off penalty corners.
“We were so much more confident in everything we were doing,” Survilla said. “Everyone really stepped up and pulled their weight today. We played as a team.”
In the last minutes of the second half, Miller had to leave the game due to injury. Only seconds later, Tar Heel freshman Kelsey Kolojejchick scored the game-winning goal on a penalty corner.
“The only unfortunate thing is they slipped one in after Lauren came out,” head coach Beth Bozman said. “I think we proved we can beat these teams today. Yesterday we proved we can play with them, and today we proved we can beat them.”
After the game, Miller and Survilla were honored during the Senior Day ceremonies.
“Miller and Amie have been so important to our program,” Bozman said. “Miller, I think, started every minute of every game since she got here.... She’s just the quarterback of our team. Amie is one of the leading scorers in the country, what else can you say about her play?”
But even the combined efforts of Miller and Survilla were not enough against the top-ranked team in the country.
The Blue Devils were prepared for the Terrapins (14-0, 4-0) and played even with them for most of the first half. Although Maryland had a slight advantage in shots and corners during the first period, it was a well-played match with Duke creating several scoring chances of its own. With 16 seconds to go before halftime, Maryland freshman Megan Frazer scored her first goal of the game.
“It was really unfortunate that they scored going in to halftime,” Bozman said. “I thought we played an even 48 minutes with them.”
At the beginning of the second half, Frazer sunk a shot into the lower corner of the goal for her second unassisted score of the game. Four minutes later, the Terrapins tallied their final goal. Nelson saved a hard shot from the right side of the circle, but Maryland junior Katie O’Donnell easily shot the rebound back into the goal.
“We did a good job sticking to our game plan in the first half,” Bozman said. “Maryland showed why they are the top team in the country. Considering the youth of our roster, there was some encouraging play. I’m pleased with how we competed in the first half.”
Duke gets a break from the ACC this weekend when it takes on William and Mary and Old Dominion in Norfolk, Va.
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