Stuck in the ACC cellar after a tough start to the conference schedule, Duke entered yet another away matchup Thursday night desperately needing points in the standings to qualify for the ACC tournament.
The Blue Devils’ road struggles continued, however, against No. 9 Virginia as Duke again allowed two goals late in the second half, falling 2-0 in Charlottesville, Va.
“I’m very proud of the girls and how we started and played the first half,” head coach Robbie Church said. “[But] we’re struggling to get the goals that make us believe [in ourselves].”
The Blue Devils (7-5-3, 1-4-1 in the ACC) came out strong, earning quick consecutive corners before freshman striker Laura Weinberg forced Cavalier goalkeeper Chantel Jones to make the first save of the game in the 19th minute.
Just a moment later, Duke missed its closest chance of the game. After gathering possession, freshman Kaitlyn Kerr’s dipping shot from range threatened the goal but just grazed the top of the crossbar and went out of play. Despite dominating possession in the first half, the Blue Devils simply weren’t able to cash in.
“The first half we played well… and we got no goals. We got nothing that could give us a little energy,” Church said.
A solid defensive performance against a potent Virginia (9-3-1, 3-2-0) attack kept Duke in a deadlock through the first 45 minutes, and though the Cavaliers began to turn the pressure up in the second period, the scoreline would hold until late in the game.
Unable to keep possession away from Virginia, the Blue Devils mustered only a single shot in the second half and were forced to deal with a barrage of shots from the Cavaliers. Duke goalkeeper Tara Campbell managed five saves on the night, but Virginia’s Meghan Lenczyk would not be denied, scoring her 10th and 11th goals of the season over a period of 2:04 in the last 10 minutes of the game.
“We just didn’t keep the ball in the second half. We turned the ball over, and we didn’t make good decisions [in possession],” Church said.
With the loss, the Blue Devils remain at the bottom of the ACC pile with only four conference games remaining. To qualify for ACC postseason play, Duke must be in the top eight of the standings, meaning the Blue Devils will likely need at least eight points from their last contests if they hope to make the cut. Duke next plays Virginia Tech Sunday in Blacksburg, Va., in what will surely be a must-win scenario.
“We’ve got four games left, and they’re all huge games,” Church said. “We’ve got to be able to execute some things, and we’ve got to find the last piece to the puzzle.”
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