The No. 8 Virginia women’s lacrosse team defeated No. 13 Duke 17-12 at Klöckner Stadium Saturday afternoon.
Virginia (9-3, 1-3 ACC) got off to a terrific start, scoring six consecutive goals in the game’s first eight minutes and six seconds. It was a very balanced attack for the Cavaliers, as each goal was scored by a different player. Duke (7-3, 2-1 ACC) scored less than a minute later to slow down the Cavaliers. Virginia answered with four goals in a span of 2:26 to take a 10-1 lead with 12:51 remaining in the first half. Duke scored two goals to cut the deficit to seven, but Virginia answered with two goals of its own to maintain a nine-goal lead. The Blue Devils added a goal with 59 seconds remaining to head into halftime down 12-4.
Duke rode the momentum gained from that late goal and played much better in the second half. The Blue Devils scored three consecutive goals after halftime and found themselves down just five goals with more than 25 minutes remaining. After Virginia responded with two goals, Duke scored three more goals to cut the deficit to four. The two teams then traded goals to make the score 15-11 with 10:12 remaining. However, Virginia senior midfielder Maggie Jackson scored the game’s next two goals to seal the win for the Cavaliers.
"I loved our first half more than our second half, but I give Duke a lot of credit,” Coach Julie Myers said. “All in all, this was a great team effort for us."
Jackson led the Cavaliers with a team-high four goals. Sophomore midfielder Ashlyn McGovern and freshman midfielder Lillie Kloak each recorded hat tricks, while senior attacker Avery Shoemaker and junior midfielder Sammy Mueller contributed two goals each.
Duke sophomore attacker Charlotte North scored four goals in the loss. Junior goalkeeper Charlie Campbell stopped 9 of 21 shots on goal from Duke.
The win was the Cavaliers’ first victory in ACC play, and it was their third consecutive win over the Blue Devils.
The Cavaliers have a very tough upcoming schedule against the top two teams in the country. They return to action Saturday when they face No. 1 Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Mass., at 12 p.m. The Cavaliers will then host No. 2 Maryland April 3 at Klöckner Stadium.
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