DURHAM, N.C. -- The Duke women's lacrosse team lost a tough match to No. 4 Virginia on Saturday afternoon, 13-9, in Koskinen Stadium. The loss ended the Blue Devils' two-year, 19-game home winning streak, and marked the second straight loss for the team, which has not occurred since March 12 and 16, 2005.

Duke falls to 7-3 on the year and 1-2 in the ACC while Virginia improves to 8-2 and 3-1 in the conference. The Blue Devils fall to fifth place in the conference and the Cavaliers take over sole possession of first place.

The late first run half by Virginia made the difference. Duke never led and was only tied with UVA at 0-0 and 1-1. Down 3-2 with 14:42 remaining in the first half, the Blue Devils gave up five consecutive scores to the Cavs going into halftime. The two goals scored by Duke in the first stanza was its lowest total in any half this year.

Duke would shorten the gap several times in the second half, but the closest it came was a 12-9 deficit with 4:41 left in the contest. Virginia tacked on one more goal just over a minute later to put the game on ice and send Duke to its third loss of the season.

The Blue Devils received matching three goal-two assist efforts from junior attackers Megan Del Monte and Carolyn Davis. Freshmen midfielders Emma Hamm and Sarah Bullard were also stellar, with Bullard securing four draw controls, two ground balls and two caused turnovers and Hamm notching two goals, one assist and one draw control.

Virginia was led by junior attacker Jenny Hauser, who tallied five goals in the contest to lead all scorers.

The Cavaliers ousted the Devils in every statistical category except for saves. Junior goalkeeper Kim Imbesi made a valiant effort, posting eight saves on the afternoon.

The Blue Devils were playing their fifth game out of their last six against a top-10 opponent. They now hold a 4-3 record over ranked teams and a 2-3 mark over top-10 competition.

Virginia now leads the all-time series with Duke, 16-6. The Blue Devils have played Virginia more than any other opponent in their history, and the Cavaliers are one of only two teams that hold more than a two-game series advantage over Duke, with the other being Princeton (4-8). Virginia was the last team to beat Duke on its home turf, with an 11-10 victory on April 1, 2006.

Duke will face another ranked opponent in No. 13 Notre Dame on Thursday, April 3 at 4:00 p.m., in Koskinen Stadium. The Blue Devils will have a difficult and quick turn-around as No. 1 Northwestern visits on Sunday, April 6 at 1:00 p.m.

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DURHAM, N.C. - A strong start and solid midfield play on Saturday afternoon led the No. 4 Virginia women's lacrosse team to a 13-9 victory over ACC-rival No. 5 Duke in Koskinen Stadium. The win marks the first for a team visiting Durham in the last 20 tries, as the Cavaliers were the last to beat the Blue Devils on their home turf, an 11-10 win on April 1, 2006. The loss for Duke (7-3, 2-2 ACC) is also the first time the Blue Devils have dropped two straight since the 2005 season, and is just the second time in the last six years that Virginia has beat Duke in the regular season.

Junior Jenny Hauser was just the second Cavalier this season to notch five goals in a single game, leading seven Virginia scorers. Sophomores Kaitlin Duff and Brittany Kalkstein each recorded two goals, while seniors Megan O'Malley and Kaitlin Swagart tallied three points each, on a goal and two assists. Junior Ashley McCulloch had a goal and an assist, and sophomore Caity Whiteley contributed a goal for the second-straight game.

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2008-03-29