Hokie ClubDURHAM, N.C – Virginia Tech finally earned its breakthrough ranked victory on Saturday afternoon, as Maura O'Malley scored in the third overtime period to give Tech a 14-13 win over No. 20 Duke.
In a game that was physical for all 60 minutes of regulation and the ensuing six minutes and 44 seconds of overtime, the Hokies used late-game heroics from O'Malley to earn its first ranked win of the season.
The Narragansett, R.I. native cemented her spot in the game as a hero when she converted a free-position attempt with two seconds remaining in regulation, however she upped the ante in overtime with a game-winning goal.
Both Tech and Duke were evenly matched throughout the game, heading into halftime tied at six then into overtime knotted at 13.
On the stats sheet, not much separated the ACC foes. The Hokies put 25 of their 35 shots on frame, while the Blue Devils had 21 of 31 shots on goal. Duke held a 14-12 advantage in ground balls, while Virginia Tech caused 11 turnovers to the host's nine.
Tech separated themselves from Duke on the draw control, as freshman Sarah Gresham was a forced to be reckoned with when challenged by Duke's Maddie Jenner, the NCAA's all-time leading draw record holder. Most of the draws were forced out to Tech's Olivia Vergano, who brought in a game-high 14 draw controls.
The victory came on Duke's Alumni Day, which made the moment more special for head coach Kristen Skiera – a Duke alum – who earned her third ranked win in her two seasons at Tech.
Freshman Ella Rishko made an impact, scoring three goals against Duke, which comes on the back of a four-goal performance against No. 7 Boston College last week. Blair Guy scored three goals for Tech, as well, marking her first multi-goal game of the season since March 8 against Elon.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Duke jumped out to a 3-1 lead at the end of the first quarter, but Tech responded in the second quarter with a 3-1 run - courtesy of goals from Guy, Rishko and Vergano.
Both sides exchanged two goals apiece in the remainder of the half, including a free-position goal from Hannah Mardiney for her second score of the day.
Tech came out of the break tied at 6-6 and scored three unanswered goals in the first three-and-a-half minutes of the half with efforts from Paige Tyson, Claire Schotta and Rishko.
Duke responded with two goals, but Tech seemingly stifled the Blue Devils' run when Guy snapped a six-minute scoreless streak in the game with 1:10 remaining in the third quarter. Duke regained momentum, however, scoring two goals in the last 30 seconds of the quarter to tie the game at 10.
The Blue Devils turned their two-goal scoring spree at the end of the third quarter into a 4-0 run with two goals to start the fourth. With Tech trailing 12-10 with 10:59 remaining in the game, Gresham earned a vital draw control to put the Hokies in position to go on a 2-0 run to even it up at 12-12 with 5:14 remaining.
Virginia Tech seemed to be in trouble when scoring a go-ahead goal with 1:47 remaining that also resulted in the Hokies going a player down when Jordan Tilley received a yellow card. The Blue Devils won the ensuing draw control, but Kayla Frank forced a turnover and picked up a ground ball with 20 seconds remaining that she passed on Lizzie Lohrer, who earned a free-position chance with five seconds to go. O'Malley ended up taking the attempt that she would convert after Lohrer had to receive treatment due to the foul.