Diamondback Online - The University of Maryland's Independent Daily Student Newspaper

Late in Saturday's women's lacrosse game, Duke rallied from five goals down, took the swagger from the Terrapins and seemed to halt the Terps' hope of beating the Blue Devils for the first time since 2003.

But with about three minutes left, senior forward Krista Pellizzi got fouled and was granted a restart near the net. She could pass or shoot, but a goal would likely end the Terps' dry streak against Duke, and a win would embolden the idea of the Terps as serious national contenders.

Pellizzi took the ball and ran straight toward the goal.

For a split second she looked like she would pass, but then she ducked under outstretched sticks and shot. The ball went in. Fans in the Ludwig Field bleachers went crazy, and Pellizzi's teammates jumped as the goal propelled the Terps to an eventual 19-18 win.

"There was just so much energy out there; it was really exciting," Pellizzi said. "I used my elbow, and I just fired it as hard as I could."

The No. 5-ranked Terps (3-0, 2-0 ACC) blew out a couple unranked teams to start the season, but the win against No. 2-ranked Duke in front of 1,033 fans hushes the remnants of any talk about a team in transition.

Instead, it shows that coach Cathy Reese, who is in her first year with the Terps after replacing Cindy Timchal, might skip the whole idea of a learning curve.

The Terps controlled the Blue Devils (4-1, 0-1) for most of the game, starting with a 4-0 lead, and then never allowed Duke to capture a lead.

Then, despite a couple of Blue Devil runs, the Terp offense answered Duke's offense with an abundance of scoring and had the power to outduel a national powerhouse. Duke lost in last year's national championship game.

"It's amazing; it shows the hard work and dedication pay off," junior midfielder Dana Dobbie said. "It's a great accomplishment, especially so early in the season. We're just gonna keep building from it."

In the offseason, the Terps hoped that bringing the new coach to College Park would rejuvenate a program that went from seven straight national championships to a habit of exiting the NCAA tournament early.

At the beginning of the season, Reese promised changes on offense to help propel the team.

"This year we're really creating a balanced attack. I think that ... anybody that's on the field for us can score," Reese reiterated Saturday about the changes. "Our wins this season are going to be because of altogether great team efforts, and today I'll definitely attribute that win to a good team effort."

Before Saturday, Duke had not allowed a team to score more than 15 goals since 2005, and the Terps' 19 goals are the most any team has ever scored on Duke in its 11-year history.

So far it seems Reese's changes are working.

Contact reporter Bryan Mann at bmanndbk@gmail.com.

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