Upcoming Event: Field Hockey at Syracuse on September 26, 2025 at 6 p.m.
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6 p.m.
Field Hockey
at Syracuse
Friday, September 19
Durham, N.C.
6:00 PM
Duke University
1
vs
2
Virginia
Field Hockey Suffers First Loss to No. 10 Virginia
9/19/2014 9:18:00 PM | Field Hockey
DURHAM, N.C. – After battling through a scoreless first half, third-ranked Duke was unable to overcome a late deficit in a 2-1 loss to No. 10 Virginia Friday evening in ACC action at Williams Field at Jack Katz Stadium. The setback was the first of the season for the Blue Devils, who fell to 6-1 overall and 1-1 in conference play.
Shots were even for the contest at 7-7 while Duke earned four penalty corners to two by the Cavaliers.
“You learn from any loss,” said head coach Pam Bustin. “My comment to the team in the locker room was, 'What I would say right now is probably what I would have said whether we had won or lost.' There are things that we have got to address and be better at.”
The majority of play in the first half took place in the midfield, with neither side dominating possession. Duke goalkeeper Lauren Blazing notched two saves in the opening period but the attack struggled to generate opportunities at the other end.
Following the intermission, the Blue Devils found themselves trailing their opponent for the first time on the season as Virginia rookie Tara Vittese dribbled her way around a pair of defenders for a goal in the 49th minute. Vittese also had a hand in the Cavalier's second tally just over 10 minutes later, feeding a pass to teammate Lucy Hyams at the far post to give the visiting squad a 2-0 advantage.
“Tara [Vittese] is super talented and she's got a great stick,” Bustin said. “If you start playing with all these moves, then you're going to get wrong-footed. She caught us a couple of times tonight. I think it's a great experience for some of our younger defenders to face that and to sense that and to get better because of it.”
Duke responded by picking up its activity on the offensive end, earning a penalty corner with just over five minutes remaining in regulation. Junior Amanda Kim redirected a shot by sophomore Heather Morris on the ensuing play to pull the Blue Devils within one.
The Blue Devil attack continued to press forward in the waning minutes, with junior midfielder Aileen Johnson forcing Virginia goalkeeper Jenny Johnstone to come up with a save on a penalty corner with just over two minutes to go. Senior Jessica Buttinger also fired a shot on goal inside the final minute but had her offering turned back by Johnstone as well to close out the contest.
Johnstone finished with three saves for the Cavaliers, who improved to 6-2 overall and 2-0 in ACC action. Blazing totaled four stops on the other end for Duke.
The Blue Devils step out of conference play Sunday, Sept. 21, traveling to Williamsburg, Va., to face William & Mary in a 1 p.m. contest. Live stats will be available for that match.
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