The UVA women’s lacrosse team (9-8, 3-4 ACC) fell 9-8 to Duke (10-7, 4-3 ACC) in the quarterfinals of the 2016 ACC Women’s Lacrosse Championship on Thursday afternoon at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Va.
Virginia trailed 5-1 in the first half, but fought back to cut the lead to two several times. The Cavaliers cut the lead to one, 8-7, but Duke went ahead 9-7 with 5:26 remaining. UVA had a chance when junior Posey Valis (Baltimore, Md.) scored her fourth goal of the game to make it, 9-8, with 12 seconds remaining but the comeback fell short as time expired.
“Really disappointed in the outcome,” Virginia head coach Julie Myers said. “We just didn’t make good decisions and didn’t execute well. To blow an opportunity the way we just did is hard. I think Duke did a nice job and they capitalized on the shots they took. Overall we just made too many mistakes and had to work too hard to stay with them. I think that caught up to us in the end.”
The Cavaliers out-shot Duke, 21-17, and led in ground balls, 16-11. The Blue Devils had a 12-7 edge in draw controls and finished with five saves to four for UVA. Both teams had 15 turnovers on the afternoon.
Valis led all players with four goals, while senior Kelly Boyd (Baltimore, Md.) and junior Kelly Reese (Severna Park, Md.) each added two goals for the Cavaliers. Three players finished with two goals for Duke.
Duke was on the board first after both teams struggled to control the ball in the opening minutes of play. The Cavaliers tied the game at 1-1 when Valis picked up a ground ball on a Blue Devils’ turnover and found senior Boyd wide-open for a goal.
Reese halted a 4-0 run by Duke to cut the Blue Devils’ lead to 5-2 with 3:23 to play in the first half. Valis then scored a goal to send the Cavaliers into halftime down 5-3.
The Cavaliers picked up a save on a Duke shot to begin the second half and gain possession, but a wide shot gave it back to the Blue Devils. Duke added to its lead with a goal at the 23:50 mark to go up 6-3.
Junior Besser Dyson (Alexandria, Va.) found Boyd for a goal as UVA cut the lead down to two, 6-4. Duke was back up by three, when Valis scored her second free position goal of the day to pull back within two with 16:04 to play. The teams traded goals as the Blue Devils scored, and Reese netted her second of the day on a free position as UVA trailed 8-6.
The Cavaliers were able to pull within one, 8-7, after Alati found Valis for a goal with 12:24 remaining. Duke was up 9-7 when Valis scored with 12 seconds remaining to cut it to one. UVA forced a turnover after the Blue Devils won the draw but time expired for a 9-8 final.
The 2016 NCAA Women’s Lacrosse selection show will air on Sunday, May 8 at 9 p.m. ET on NCAA.com.
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Chris Graham
