Northwestern found itself in an unfamiliar place against No. 7 Duke Sunday in Durham, N.C., where the team had never won. The Wildcats trailed an opponent at the half for the first time this year, and the the two-goal deficit facing coach Kelly Amonte Hiller's squad was the largest of the season.
But not even a rare dose of adversity could prevent the top-ranked Cats from winning their school-record 32nd straight game, as NU outscored its archrival 9-3 in the second half on its way to a 15-11 victory.
"I thought we played a really good second half," senior defender Christy Finch said. "In the first half we were just getting used to (Duke) and we let them come back when we shouldn't have, but we stepped up in the second half and pulled out a win."
NU (11-0) got off to a hot start with four quick goals, two each by sophomore Danielle Spencer and junior Hilary Bowen. But Duke (7-5) surged back with an 8-2 run before halftime, out-shooting the Cats 18-12 in the first period.
The Cats entered the break trailing for the first time since the 2006 national championship game.
NU pulled within one on a free-position shot by Bowen just more than a minute into the second period.
"It was definitely something we haven't had to deal with in a while," junior Hannah Nielsen said of the deficit. "But from the second Hilary scored the first goal of the second half, we felt we could win the game and we did from there."
The Cats tied the game at eight on a goal by junior Meredith Frank, and the momentum had turned in their favor.
"There was definitely a change in energy," junior goalie Morgan Lathrop said. "We started to get 50-50 balls and draw controls. We weren't getting that many in the first half and we started to get them. We had more possession, and when the other team doesn't have the ball, it's a lot easier to score."
The Cats held the Blue Devils scoreless for a 14-minute stretch in the second half while scoring five goals to put the game out of reach.
2008 Woodie Awards
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