A Momentum Shift is in the Air at Duke

Duke entered its contest against Virginia with one goal, and one it had only accomplished a handful of times in 2024: put together a complete 60 minutes of lacrosse.

The Blue Devils had felt like they could put strong performances on both ends of the field, but never at the same time. They were also coming off a disappointing 18-3 loss to Boston College and a close win over East Carolina that left players with a chip on their shoulder.

That push for consistency ultimately proved crucial, as Duke took down Virginia — a top 10 opponent at the time — in a 15-10 victory last weekend.

“Saturday was a long time coming for us,” coach Kerstin Kimel said. “We’ve been a work in progress after what I would call a slow start to our season. Our kids did a great job dialing into the game plan, sticking to it throughout the game and just playing. We put together our best game of the season.”

Duke, now 9-5, has hit its stride through the middle of the season. The Blue Devils are 6-2 since the beginning of March, including what Kimel called their “signature win” against Virginia and several hard-fought victories — like victories over Pitt, Harvard and Virginia Tech.

There were several ups and downs for Duke early on, like when they lost to ranked teams like Clemson and Johns Hopkins. But Kimel credited her team for their resiliency, saying that her players have remained “locked in.”

This success comes after a tough 2023 campaign during which the Blue Devils went 8-10 and missed the NCAA tournament amid injuries and illnesses. It proved to be a valuable learning experience.

“We went through a lot of growing pains last year,” attacker Katie DeSimone said. “Even though it stunk in the moment, we learned so much from it, and it translated to this season.”

One common factor for the Blue Devils the past two seasons: close games. Last season, Duke played six one-goal games and won one — an ACC Tournament contest against Louisville. This season, the Blue Devils have played five games decided by two goals or fewer and pulled out a victory in four of them.

Three of their narrow wins came in a three-game stretch around spring break: Pitt, Harvard then Virginia Tech. Kimel emphasized the importance of coming out of that stretch 3-0 after a 3-3 start with some disappointing losses.

The Blue Devils didn’t pay much attention to the score during that stretch, competing no matter the circumstances. That was a “huge step forward” from last season, Kimel said.

“This group is unfazed by the scoreboard,” Kimel said. “They’re able to put themselves in a situation to win games that are close.”

Having an upperclass-heavy roster has helped in those pressure-filled moments. The Blue Devils’ top five scorers are all upperclassmen, and their goalkeepers have plenty of experience, too. The team has learned from last season, DeSimone said, becoming better at executing and staying calm.

Now, Duke is focusing on honesty and improvement in order to finish out their final ACC stretch strong. Their takedown of the Cavaliers was a great win, Kimel said, but not a perfect performance. Her program will continue to identify areas for growth in the coming weeks.

The Blue Devils have already played again, defeating Campbell 16-2 on Monday. It was a quick turnaround, but DeSimone still felt something new starting to take shape.

“That UVA game solidified a lot for us as a team and what our character’s going to be for the rest of the season,” DeSimone said. “Versus Campbell, I think it definitely translated a little bit. There’s a momentum shift.”