The Virginia field hockey team's season ended last night, as the squad suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to Duke during the first round of the ACC Tournament.
The Blue Devils opened the scoring with a 17th-minute goal from sophomore midfielder Emmie Le Marchand, but Virginia co-captain and sophomore forward Elly Buckley responded five minutes later with her team-leading 16th goal of the season to knot the game at 1-1. Duke added another goal on a shot from junior midfielder Devon Gagliardi and went into halftime up 2-1. The Blue Devils outshot Virginia 7-4 during the first half, and the Cavaliers trailed on corner kicks 4-3.
The second half proved to be as tight as the first. Duke took a 3-1 advantage, but Virginia cut the lead during the 49th minute, as Buckley notched her second goal of the game off a rebounded shot. The Cavaliers pushed for the rest of the half, but only took four shots to Duke's eight and ultimately failed to find the equalizer.
With the loss, the Cavaliers finish the season 8-12 and miss the NCAA tournament for the first time under sixth-year coach Michele Madison.
-compiled by Michael Eilbacher
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