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No. 13 Virginia Falls 11-8 at No. 15 Duke
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Box Score March 26, 2016
DURHAM, N.C. – The No. 13 Virginia women’s lacrosse team (5-6, 0-4 ACC) fell 11-8 at No. 15 Duke (8-4, 3-0 ACC) on Saturday afternoon at Koskinen Stadium.
Virginia had the edge over Duke in shots (22-17), ground balls (17-13) and draw controls (14-7), however the Blue Devils had 12 saves to three for the Cavaliers. UVA trailed by as many as six and cut the lead to three several times but could not get any closer.
“It is just another disappointing outcome to a game,” head coach Julie Myers said. “We just got off to a slow start. We started to gain some momentum but just failed to capitalize on some opportunities. We have been struggling with finishing all year and this was another game where that goal just eluded us. I give credit to Duke. They attacked us really hard and made our defenders make some tough stops. A good Duke team came out on top in a game that we really beat them on paper with the exception of the goals at the end.”
The Cavaliers were down 2-0 in the first half after two quick goals by Duke. Sophomore Kasey Behr (Northport, N.Y.) extended her streak to 11-straight games with a goal at the 23:43 mark to make it 2-1. The Blue Devils then used a 5-0 run to lead 7-1 with 6:40 to go in the first.
Behr ripped a goal from the eight-meter arc for her second of the game to cut Duke’s lead to 7-2, but Duke responded with a minute remaining and took an 8-2 lead into halftime.
Virginia scored first out of the break after junior Posey Valis (Baltimore, Md.) scored on a free position shot to cut the lead to 8-3. Valis picked up the ensuing draw control that led to a goal by freshman Maggie Jackson (Alexandria, Va.) on an assist from senior Mary Alati (Glen Ridge, N.J.).
Valis made it a 3-0 run for the Cavaliers with her second goal of the day to pull UVA within three, 8-3, with 21:53 remaining in the game. Duke halted Virginia’s run with a goal at the 19:39 mark to go up 9-5. Valis tallied her fourth hat trick of the season with a goal to make it 9-6 with 16:45 on the clock.
After two-straight goals for Duke, Behr scored her third goal of the game for a hat trick as Virginia trailed 11-7 with 5:01 left. Alati scored to make it 11-8 with 1:45 to play, but the Cavaliers were unable to get any closer.
Behr and Valis each led UVA with three goals. Kyra Harney had a game-high four goals for Duke. The Cavaliers had four players picked up three ground balls, while Jackson and Valis led with three draw controls each.
UVA will return home for this final home game of the season as it hosts Boston College for Senior Day at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 2 at Klöckner Stadium. The Cavaliers will then begin a four-game road swing at Navy on Wednesday, April 6.