The Virginia women’s lacrosse team lost to No. 5 Duke 13-12 in a Saturday afternoon nail-biter.
Senior attack Jenny Hauser’s career-high six goals did not stifle the Blue Devils (9-2, 2-1 ACC),
“I think it was just a miscommunication with our defense,” Duke junior midfielder Kaitlin Duff said. “We were struggling calling numbers, and then she came straight down the middle.”
The No. 10 Cavaliers (7-4, 1-3 ACC) began the game with a series of quick strikes, scoring 33 seconds into the game and then jumping out to a 3-0 lead eight minutes into the match. The Blue Devils, however, offset Virginia’s successful start by going on a 7-1 run during the next 17 minutes, tallying six consecutive goals. Hauser was the only Cavalier to manage a goal during the stretch.
The Cavaliers finished the half strong with three goals in the final two and a half minutes, going into halftime down 7-8. Hauser played an impressive first half, scoring four of her six goals. Duke’s junior attack Lindsay Gilbride and senior attack Carolyn Davis also had a strong first half, both ending the period with three goals apiece.
Duke began the second half with a goal a minute and a half in. Just as it seemed the game was getting out of hand for the Cavaliers, Virginia responded with two goals by junior midfielder Brittany Kalkstein and senior midfielder Blair Weymouth to knot the score at nine. The teams traded goals until eight and a half minutes were left in the game and both teams locked down on defense. The barren streak continued until sophomore midfielder Sarah Bullard scored the game-winning goal with 11.3 seconds left in the game to seal the victory for the Blue Devils.
“We lost against a great opponent in Duke,” Virginia coach Julie Myers. “It’s heartbreaking to come up a goal short again with plenty of opportunities to seal the deal and come up with a win.”
Hauser’s offensive performance was a positive for Virginia. Along with her six goals, she collected two draw controls and one ground ball while causing one turnover.
“We were looking for [one-on-one matchups] today, which is one of my favorite things to do, so I went for it,” Hauser said.
Apart from Hauser, five other Cavaliers contributed to Virginia’s scoring. Weymouth scored two goals, while senior midfielder Ashley McCulloch, junior attack Whitaker Hagerma, freshman midfielder Julie Gardner and Kalkstein each notched a goal for the Cavaliers. Davis and Gilbride led the Blue Devils, scoring four goals apiece.
The loss for Virginia is yet another twist in its up and down season. It seemed as if the Cavaliers might have regained their early season form after scoring 18 goals and defeating then-no. 18 James Madison Tuesday. The Cavaliers, though, could not capitalize on the momentum Saturday. The loss against Duke is Virginia’s fourth loss in their last seven games, all of which have been against ranked opponents.
“I think losing these games will eventually come to show later in the season,” Weymouth said. “We have some of the best attackers in the country and we have some of the best defenders. It is a matter of playing together for a whole 60 minutes and not having lulls in the middle of the game.”
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