Second Half Surge Sends No. 12 Virginia Past Duke

Saturday, April 8

Charlottesville, VA

2 PM

Duke University

6-7, 1-6ACC

Virginia

10-4, 5-2ACC

Duke

Virginia

Second Half Surge Sends No. 12 Virginia Past Duke

4/8/2023 4:56:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score Box Score

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia used a 6-1 run over a span of 9:53 in the fourth quarter and held off a late Duke charge to hand the 24th-ranked Blue Devils a 16-12 loss in ACC women's lacrosse action at Klöckner Stadium Saturday afternoon. The 12th-ranked Cavaliers outscored Duke 10-6 in the second half to secure the win.

Lexi Schmalz led the Blue Devil offense with three goals and an assist for four points. Duke falls to 6-7 overall and 1-6 in league action, while Virginia moves to 10-4 overall and 5-2 against ACC foes. Virginia attacker Morgan Schwab led all scorers in the game with five goals and an assist.

How it Happened

Katie DeSimone opened the scoring for the Blue Devils at the 3:07 mark. Graduate student Anna Callahan threw one past Virginia goaltender Abby Jansen one minute later for the 2-0 Duke lead.
The Cavaliers answered with a pair of unanswered goals 89 seconds apart to tie the score midway through the opening quarter.
Duke's Lexi Schmalz drew a foul in front of the cage and finished her free position shot to put the Blue Devils back in front, 3-2, but a strike from Cavalier midfielder Kate Miller tied the score at the first break.
The back and forth continued in the second quarter as Duke jumped back in front by two on goals from Katie Keller and Veronica Hineman before Virginia netted three tallies in 2:29 to nab its first lead of the afternoon, 6-5. Schmalz erased the Cavalier lead, tying the scored at six apiece headed into the locker room.
The game featured one lead change and four ties in the opening 30 minutes with four different Blue Devils tallying goals.
Virginia came out firing on all cylinders in the third quarter, surging to a 10-6 advantage. The Blue Devils struggled with turnovers in the first 13 minutes, giving the ball away five times and taking just four shots.
DeSimone ended the Blue Devils' scoreless drought at 13:53 to key a 3-0 run for Duke to end the third frame. Schmalz and Hineman tacked on goals in the final 90 seconds to send Duke into the final quarter trailing, 10-9.
It was a similar tale in the fourth quarter with Virginia scoring the first four goals for its largest lead of the afternoon at 14-9. The Cavalier defense kept the Blue Devil offense in check for much of the final period, holding Duke to just one shot in 12 minutes.
Duke scored twice in 32 seconds in the final minutes, but the charge was too little too late.
Maddie Jenner finished her afternoon with 10 draw controls as Duke won the battle on the circle, 17-15. Sophia LeRose made six saves and Madison Drebing had two stops in 15 minutes of action.

Notes

Graduate student goaltender Sophia LeRose started her first game since Feb. 15, 2023. She made six saves in 44:45 of action, the most minutes she's played Feb. 10, 2023.
The hat trick for Lexi Schmalz was the third of her career, while Katie DeSimone had four points for the 24th time in her career.

Up Next