Soccer is one of those sports where anything can happen on any given afternoon. Sunday afternoon, something unexpected did.
Despite outshooting the Blue Devils 12-6, the No. 2 Cavaliers (17-3-2) lost to No. 20 Duke (15-7-0) by the score of 3-0, ending their historic season in the second round of the NCAA Tournament Saturday at Klöckner Stadium.
With less than two minutes remaining in the first half, Virginia midfielder Sarah Huffman broke free and played an incredible through ball between two defenders to Virginia senior Lindsay Gusick at the top of the box. Gusick, Virginia's second all-time leading goal scorer, took one touch and ripped a left-footed shot past Duke goalkeeper Allison Lipsher. Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, Gusick's rocket hit off of the cross bar and bounced away, leaving the game scoreless at the break.
"After the first half I felt pretty good," Virginia coach Steve Swanson said. "Had that ball Gusick hit gone in, I think it would have changed the complexion of the game."
In spite of of the scoreless first half, Virginia should have felt confident about its position entering the second period of play. The Cavaliers' defense, which has been exceptional all season, held the Blue Devils to only a single first-half shot.
However, Virginia's staunch defensive effort took a big blow just six minutes into the second half when Duke's Kate Seibert lifted an attempted cross over both her own players and Virginia goalkeeper Christina de Vries for the game's first goal.
"Anytime you get a goal like they did, it's going to boost your confidence," Gusick said.
Duke's newfound confidence became immediately visible as the Blue Devils began attacking with renewed vigor. The same team that went the entire first half with only a single shot found itself with another opportunity to put a notch in the goal column just five minutes later.
In the 57th minute, Duke forward Carolyn Riggs received a through ball behind two Virginia defenders and rifled it past de Vries, increasing the Blue Devil lead to two. Riggs may have been offsides, but no call was made and the Cavaliers found themselves in a potentially disastrous hole.
Down by two for only the second time all season, Virginia began rushing things offensively and was unable to mount a successful attacking sequence for the remainder of the game. Despite Virginia's offensive intensity, it was the Blue Devils who struck last as de Vries came out too late to intercept a through ball and Duke forward Sarah McCabe capitalized by depositing the game's final goal in the back of the net.
"I wasn't too worried about being down 1-0," Swanson said. "But it's hard with a team like that to go down 2-0. You have to give them credit. They didn't have many, but they made the most of their chances."
With the loss, Virginia ends one of its most successful seasons in school history. An undefeated home record in the regular season, capped off by a first-ever ACC Tournament title over North Carolina, will likely catapult the program to greater heights in the future.
But for this year's senior class, their last game will be remembered as nothing short of unexpected.
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