Semifinals Bound: Duke Advances with 2-1 Win over Syracuse

Sunday, November 12

Durham, N.C.

1 p.m.

Duke University

(18-4)

Syracuse

(11-8)

Syracuse

Duke University

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Semifinals Bound: Duke Advances with 2-1 Win over Syracuse

11/12/2023 5:26:00 PM | Field Hockey

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DURHAM – Duke graduate student Hannah Miller scored 20 seconds into the third quarter and the Blue Devils stifled the Syracuse attack to capture a 2-1 victory over the 11th-ranked Orange to advance to the NCAA field hockey semifinals in Chapel Hill next weekend.

Sophomore Alaina McVeigh notched Duke's other goal, knocking in a penalty stroke just before halftime. The Blue Devils (18-4) advance to the semifinals for the seventh time in program history and for the first time since 2015.

Duke will face Northwestern in the semifinal, Nov. 17 at 3 p.m., at Karen Shelton Stadium on the campus of the University of North Carolina.

How it Happened

Syracuse grabbed the early 1-0 lead in the 11th minute when Pieke van de Pas lifted a shot from just inside the circle into the top left of the goal after a restart.
Duke settled into the game after falling behind early, keeping the Orange without a shot for the remainder of the first half.
The Blue Devils fired five shots in the first 15 minutes, including a pair right in front of the cage that were stopped by Syracuse keeper Abby Neitch.
Continuing to play within themselves and sticking to their brand of hockey, Duke had better possession in the second quarter. Miller had a shot denied by Neitch in the 23rd minute, but six minutes later it was junior Josephine Palde who dribbled her way into the scoring circle and drew a foul for a penalty stroke. Palde wreaked havoc all afternoon against the Orange, providing dangerous circle entries and outstanding pressure defense in the offensive third.
McVeigh stepped up to the spot and pushed her shot low past a diving Neitch to even the score with 52 seconds remaining in the second quarter.
Duke wasted no time in taking the 2-1 lead as Miller redirected Kira Curland's hit from nearly 30 yards outside the scoring circle. The play all started with Logan Clouser intercepting a pass in Syracuse's defensive third and McVeigh drawing a foul to give Curland the open look.
Curland, playing quickly, saw Miller on the right post and hit it right to Miller's stick where she tipped it perfectly into the cage for her eighth goal of the year.
The Blue Devils continued to stymie the talented Syracuse attack, allowing one shot and one penalty corner in the third period, to take a 2-1 lead into the final 15 minutes.
Duke remained poised and did well to possess the ball throughout the final stanza. As the minutes started to tick under five, the Blue Devils started to kill the game. Syracuse put on an extra attacker in the last five minutes but couldn't crack the Duke defense.
A final tackle from Charlie van Oirschot on the far touchline iced the victory for the Blue Devils as they emptied the bench in jubilation.
Duke outshot Syracuse 10-3 for the game. Piper Hampsch did not have to make a save in the contest while Neitch had four. The Orange had a slight 3-2 edge in penalty corners.

Notes

Duke captured its 18th win of the season, giving the Blue Devils 18 wins for the fourth time in program history and the first time under head coach Pam Bustin.
Bustin captured her 162nd career win at Duke, tying Jacki Silar for the career wins record by a Duke field hockey head coach. It was Bustin's 324th career victory.
This is Duke's seventh appearance in the NCAA Semifinals and first since 2015. The other years were – 2003, 2004, 2005, 2016, 2013, 2015. The Blue Devils are 4-2 in semifinal contests.
Alaina McVeigh registered her 17th goal of the season to move into a tie for 16th in Duke single-season history and are the most since Rose Tynan had 17 in 2017. Her 37 points are 25th in a single season in program lore and the most since Tynan's 37 in 2017.
Hannah Miller registered her eighth goal of the season to push her career total to 33 to take over sole possession of No. 16 on the career chart. She has 95 career points to sit at 13th.
Duke will face Northwestern in the NCAA Tournament for the second time. The Blue Devils defeated the Wildcats, 1-0, in the opening round in 2014.
Duke stymied the nation's third-ranked offense, holding the Orange to one goal and to only three shots overall in 60 minutes of action. Syracuse entered the game averaging 3.17 goals per game and 16.8 shots per game. The three shots are the fewest by the Orange all season. The three penalty corners earned by Syracuse are tied for the second fewest in 2023.
The Blue Devils finished the 2023 season with a 10-1 record on their home turf.

Up Next

Duke faces No. 2 seed Northwestern in the NCAA semifinal, Nov. 17 at 3 p.m., at Karen Shelton Stadium in Chapel Hill. The winner advanced to the title game, Nov. 19 at 1:30 p.m. The semifinal games will be streamed live on ESPN+.

Quotes
Pam Bustin on preparation for Syracuse
"I thought Syracuse played quite well in the ACC Tournament, so we knew that the momentum was definitely there. But as it's been all season, while you have an idea of who your opponent is you really just want to focus on what game we need to play, and the team stayed to that. They didn't get off the rails in moments where momentum wasn't going for us, especially after that first goal. They just kept going and that's what I'm most proud of. They just kept grinding and plugging and sticking to the gameplan and doing what they prepared to do."

On Duke's transition defense
"We've been making sure our transition defense actually gets better. It needs to continue to improve, especially as you go deeper into the season. I was extremely proud of our transition defense today. I thought we were very professional and disciplined in how we anticipated that."

On discussion at halftime
"I think we finally got into the rhythm of the game and kind of shook off that first goal. We thought we had some tough calls that kind of frustrated us a little bit, but we had to let it go and come out and just continue to play with courage and attack on the front foot and that's what we did."

On the win and making the semifinals
"For them it means so much. We've had some tough years where we've had to regroup, and we've had to reinvest in what it was we were about and who we were, and we had to have the right people who wanted to invest in it as well. And they have done the work. They have done the work, and they deserve this opportunity for all the work they've done. They've earned it."

On the next opponent
"Right now, we're going to enjoy this and wait to see who it is and then get back to work."

Alaina McVeigh
On her penalty stroke goal
"I was just telling myself to stay calm and to pick my spot. I knew where I wanted to put it. So, stay calm, take a deep breath and do what I did a bunch of times before."

On the win
"It's so special. This is a really awesome group of girls who have really been investing so much into this year. We've talked about playing every game like it's a normal 60 minutes of field hockey and we're so excited to play our game and play Duke field hockey in the final four."

Hannah Miller on her goal
"A similar play actually happened on Friday where I wasn't there for the redirection. It was actually almost identical, so I heard [Associate Head Coach] Ralph [Boersma] in my ear saying get in the line of the ball and just get a piece of it. And I think that whole play started from Logan [Clouser] pressing really hard, Alaina [McVeigh] picking it up and then Kira [Curland] being right behind her. That's just a whole team effort, playing hard defense and then finishing it. I'm just so proud of us all working together and believing as a team. That just showed everything we've been working for and I'm so excited."

On the win and what it means to her
"It's just unbelievable. It's something we knew we could have done for a long time. Everyone is totally bought in. All spring we worked towards improving our basic skills and execution for it to show in these hard moments. It's a battle out there and we believed from start to finish and that's something that we can be so proud of. All of the girls who came before us, this is the opportunity we've been waiting for for so long. We play for each other, and we play for the girls who came before and we're not done yet."

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