The comeback attempt by the Virginia women's lacrosse team fell short Saturday as the Cavaliers fell to the visiting Duke Blue Devils, 16-12.
No. 2 Virginia (7-2) erased much of a substantial deficit but could not overcome a first half in which the No. 5 Blue Devils (9-2) scored eight unanswered goals.
"It was uncanny -- I have never seen the [poor] decisions being made," Virginia coach Julie Myers said. "We were discombobulated in very simple things we should have been in sync on. Our wheels were completely off."
The Blue Devils took advantage of Virginia's confusion to dominate for 15 minutes, starting with a goal by Katie Chrest. Duke was able to spread the wealth around during the eight-goal run as six different players scored en route to a 10-2 Blue Devil lead.
"They tend to jump the double early," Duke coach Kerstin Kimel said. "There were people open inside and we were able to hit them."
The Blue Devils took advantage of the open players to record five assists during the run. Duke midfielder Leigh Jester had both of her team-high two assists during the run. But Duke's run also was aided by some missed assignments by the Cavalier defense.
"Our [defensive] slides were not coming fast enough," Virginia senior Elizabeth Pinney said. "We were a little flat-footed. They're a great team, and they don't really need a lot of space. They definitely took advantage of it."
Virginia was finally able to stop the run when senior Amy Appelt scored with just over six-and-a-half minutes remaining in the half. Appelt ended a Cavalier scoring drought that began at the 8:59 mark. Virginia, however, did not end the half on a good note as Chrest scored her third goal of the game with 30 seconds remaining until halftime to give Duke an 11-3 advantage.
"I think it's always tough to go into halftime with that kind of lead against a team like this," Kimel said. "They have a really powerfully offense, so we were expecting [Virginia] to make a good hard run at us in the second half."
The Cavaliers did make an attempt to climb back into the game, as they scored five of the first six goals of the second half. That burst included three Cavalier goals in the 41st minute. Nikki Lieb started that minute by scoring after the Virginia defense forced a turnover. On the ensuing face-off, Virginia midfielder Jess Wasilewski won control and got the ball to Kim Connors. Connors jetted past the Blue Devil defenders and netted her second goal of the afternoon at the 41:21 mark. Tyler Leachman scored one of her four goals on an eight-meter shot to end the action packed minute and pull her team within four.
"We definitely picked up some momentum there," Leachman said. "We had them on their heels for a little bit and were able to score."
Chrest again tormented the Cavaliers when she ended the run with her fourth goal of the afternoon. Goals by Leachman and Wasilewski brought Virginia within three, 13-10, but the Cavaliers did not get any closer. Chrest scored her fifth goal and Duke midfielder Rachel Sanford also scored to build the Duke's lead to five, 15-10. Goals by Appelt and Cary Chasney closed the gap to three again, but a late goal by Jester secured the win for the Blue Devils.
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