Four goals by Kat Thomas and a second-half surge helped Duke reel off its sixth straight victory with an 11-8 win at Virginia Saturday. After watching a 5-1 lead evaporate in the second half, the No. 3 Blue Devils (9-1, 2-1 in the ACC) regained their poise and held on for their fifth consecutive win over a ranked opponent.
“I’m really pleased,” head coach Kerstin Kimel said. “I think the wins are a testament to how hard we’re working in practice and pushing each other.”
Despite No. 9 Virginia (5-4, 0-3) slowing down the pace of the game with an opening possession that lasted over five minutes, two quick goals by senior Virginia Crotty gave Duke the early lead. Thomas added her first score with 21 minutes remaining to extend the margin to 3-0.
“[That early lead] was especially important considering the fact that Virginia played a really slow game,” Kimel said. “The fact that we were able to go down and produce on offense was great.”
Following a Cavalier goal, Duke added two more scores by Thomas and Christie Kaestner within a span of 30 seconds that increased the lead to 5-1. Virginia battled back, however, against a Blue Devil squad that has been prone to allowing scoring runs this season. The Cavaliers were able to close the gap to 6-3 at halftime.
Coming out of the break, Duke controlled possession, but some miscues on offense let Virginia steal momentum. The Cavaliers opened the second half with three straight goals that tied the game at six.
“We came into the second half wanting to come out on fire, and we did that in terms of possession, but we just weren’t able to finish on our shots,” Kimel said.
The game changed, however, following a Blue Devil timeout with 22 minutes remaining. The timeout allowed Duke to regain its focus, and following the break, Thomas scored to retake the lead. The Blue Devils never looked back.
“We wanted to break the momentum of Virginia,” Kimel said, regarding the timeout. “There wasn’t a whole lot that I felt like we needed to adjust, it was more a mental and emotional break for the girls to get back in the game.”
Duke finished the contest with a 5-2 run that closed out a solid victory on the road. The conference victory provided confidence for a team that takes on No. 2 Northwestern on Saturday.
“We haven’t been in a ton of close games yet this year, and being in a game where we had some momentum shifts was really important,” Kimel said. “To get an ACC win on the road is huge, and it’s a great momentum builder going into next weekend against Northwestern.”
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