WILLIAMSBURG - The William and Mary field hockey put on a terrific defensive effort Friday night, and saw the tying goal slid inches wide of the goal with three seconds left as the Tribe fell to #16 Duke, 1-0 at Busch Field. W&M nows stands at 3-11 on the year, while the Blue Devils improved to 7-8.

Box Score

As the clock wound down with under 10 seconds remaining and the Tribe deep in Duke zone, the ball got dumped into the middle of the shooting circle on a long pass behind the defense. The visiting goalkeeper was caught out of position, and senior Mikala Savaides (Burke, Va.) stretched and got her stick solidly on the ball to redirect it towards goal. With three seconds showing, the ball appeared to be on target at the post, but it slid just to the outside of the goal and over the endline.

The College was carried on the night with a strong defensive effort that stifled the Duke offense. Despite holding a 14-4 advantage in shots and 9-1 edge on penalty corners, the Blue Devils were only able to get a single score, and that required a penalty stroke to be assessed on the Tribe. In the 45th minute, Duke was awarded a corner, and the first attempt was stopped at the near post by sophomore Maria Caro (Martinsville, N.J.). A scrum immediately developed with eight or more players, and after several jostling minutes, the refs awarded a penalty stroke to the visitors.

In addition to Caro's defensive stop, her fifth of the year, senior Erica Eng (Morristown, N.J.) also recorded a defensive save in the first half. Again off a corner, Eng was able to close down the far side of the goal and recorded her seond stop, and the first since 2008. Sophomore goalkeeper Elizabeth Frey (Virginia Beach, Va.) again played very well, making three saves to raise her season total to 43.

William and Mary returns to action on Monday night with its final road trip of the year. The Tribe will travel to Charlottesville to face third-ranked Virginia at 6 p.m.