DURHAM, N.C. -- In their last ACC matchup of the year, the Virginia (9-2, 2-1 ACC) women's lacrosse high-octane offense ran into a staunch Duke (6-3, 2-1) defense Saturday and came up just short, losing 10-9.
The loss drops the Cavaliers to second place in the ACC and to a second seed in the ACC tournament, set to take place the weekend of April 23.
The first half of the contest was tough for the Virginia women, as they missed a number of early scoring chances and quickly fell behind by four goals.
While senior midfielder Morgan Thalenberg and junior defender Ashleigh Haas closed the gap to 4-2 with a goal apiece, Duke extended their lead with two more goals in the last four minutes of the first, leaving the Cavaliers down 6-2 at halftime.
"I don't think that we got in the flow of our offense," Virginia head coach Julie Myers said. "We all get a little nervous when our shots don't go in."
After the break at the half, the delay game became the Blue Devils most important asset. Duke's offense passed the ball all over the offensive zone, eating up huge chunks of clock while waiting for a defensive breakdown from the Cavaliers and a wide open shot.
"If I was Duke, I would do the same thing," Myers said. "They typically score 10, 11 or 12 goals, so they knew they didn't want to get in a shooting match with us. I think their game plan was great, and I think their kids executed it perfectly."
With about 20 minutes left in the second period, junior defender Molly Urlock made an impressive stop on a Duke shot with her stick, but her misplay of the ensuing groundball allowed Duke to retain possession.
Quickly after securing the groundball, a Duke attacker took a shot which senior goalie Andrea Pfeiffer stopped, but Duke's junior attacker Kristy Dirks scooped up the rebound and extended the Blue Devil lead to 8-2 -- once again, a well-played ball by a Virginia defender followed by a mistake.
Despite the lack of chances caused by Duke's delay game, the offense began to make their run with 10 minutes left, down 10-5. Junior attacker Amy Appelt, who came into the game averaging 4.5 goals a game, quickly became the hot hand for the Cavaliers.
Appelt found the net three times in the last 10 minutes, twice on penalties, to bring the Cavaliers within two, to 10-8. The Cavaliers also stepped up their defensive presence during this run, creating Appelt's chances by picking up several ground balls, a statistic which they led overall, 14-10.
Appelt's last goal came with 3:44 to play, and then again the Duke delay game set in, as they passed the ball all over the field, playing keep away from the Cavaliers.
"It was pretty amazing, I've never actually seen a team go all the way back to their goalie a couple of times," Myers said. "It seemed really effective."
The Cavaliers put in one last goal, scored by sophomore attacker Tyler Leachman, her second of the game. The goal, however, came with no time left on the clock, too late to help the Cavaliers push to comeback.
Despite the loss, there were lessons to be learned from Saturday's game.
"It's just good to know that we do have heart and that we want to win," Appelt said. "We were just a couple of minutes short"
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