No. 12 Virginia women’s lacrosse used a dominant second-half run to defeat No. 24 Duke 16-12 Saturday afternoon at Klöckner Stadium. The Cavaliers (10-4, 5-2 ACC) were led by junior attacker Morgan Schwab — who scored a career-high five goals — in their victory against the Blue Devils (6-7, 1-6 ACC).
Virginia also held Senior Day festivities for its athletes, as this was the last home game of the season. Nine players were celebrated by the team, the most notable of which was graduate student Ashlyn McGovern, who leads the team in scoring.
The Blue Devils opened up the scoring in the first quarter when their leading scorer, junior attacker Katie DeSimone, scored her 40th goal of the season to take a quick 1-0 lead. Exactly one minute later, Duke scored again, increasing their lead to two early in the game.
Schwab responded for the Cavaliers, as she scored the first of goals with a little under eight minutes remaining in the quarter. Schwab would not let up in the quarter, as she quickly found the back of the net again, tying the game at two. The two teams traded goals at the end of the quarter, making the score 3-3 headed into the second frame.
In the second quarter, Duke found the back of the net first when junior midfielder Katie Keller forced a turnover on the defensive end, which she turned into a goal on the other end as the Blue Devils took a 4-3 lead. The Blue Devils scored again before the Cavaliers could generate anything on their offensive end.
Sophomore attacker Kate Miller finally broke the scoring drought for the Cavaliers in the second quarter when she scored an unassisted goal with six minutes remaining in the quarter. Just a minute later, senior midfielder Kiki Shaw followed Miller’s goal with a goal of her own, tying the game at five.
Again, both teams traded goals towards the end of the quarter, making the score 6-6 headed into the halftime break.
In the second half, Virginia’s star trio of Schwab, graduate student attacker Ashlyn McGovern and sophomore attacker Rachel Clark took over the game, making sure the Blue Devils could not gain control.
The Cavaliers began the second half on a 4-0 run, spearheaded by McGovern’s 50th goal of the season. However, Duke would not go away, creating their own 3-0 run to close the third quarter, cutting their deficit to just one heading into the final quarter.
To open the final frame, the Cavaliers retook all the momentum they may have lost towards the end of the third quarter when junior midfielder Maggie Bostain caused a turnover and sprinted towards the offensive end as the ball eventually found Clark for an outstanding fast break goal. Clark quickly scored two more goals, followed by two for McGovern, who moved into a tie for third all-time with 195 career goals.
Schwab closed out the scoring for the Cavaliers when she scored her fifth goal of the afternoon off a beautiful assist from graduate student attacker Taylor Mullen. Keller would score two more goals for the Blue Devils which were too little too late as the Cavaliers held on for the 16-12 victory. Coach Julie Myers was pleased by her team's performance.
“To score 16 goals is something that takes a lot of teamwork,” Myers said. “To be able to get some defensive stops and turn those into goals at the other end was really fun to watch.”
With just two more regular season matchups remaining before ACC Tournament play, Virginia must find a way to consistently turn their stellar defense into offense through fastbreak goals and retaining possession. The team will get a fantastic chance to be able to test their abilities when they travel to a top 10 team next weekend.
The Cavaliers return to action Saturday when they travel to Chestnut Hill, M.A.. to take on No. 7 Boston College. The game is set to begin at 2 p.m. and will be broadcast on ACC Network.
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