After dropping three straight games for the first time since 2004, Duke seemed to be slipping into unfamiliar territory as the postseason loomed on the horizon. But with an ACC tournament bid on the line, the Blue Devils hit their stride to ensure that they are bound for postseason conference play.
For the first time in an ACC matchup this season, No. 7 Duke captured the victory by nearly doubling up No. 6 Virginia 15-8 with a strong performance at Koskinen Stadium Sunday. Since 2007, the Blue Devils now move to 14-1 against the Cavaliers and secure a spot in the four-team ACC tournament, which is slated to start April 24.
“Virginia is a team that we have so much respect for,” Duke head coach John Danowski said. “We want to be considered [the blue bloods of our sport] one day. It’s going to take us years to be considered that, to catch up with those guys, but when you play these teams, that’s part of it.”
Duke (8-4, 1-3 in the ACC) had not put together a full 60-minute game against conference foes this season, but an all-around effort by the squad changed that Sunday. Six Blue Devils found the back of the net during the contest, and the team outhustled Virginia (8-4, 0-4) by picking up 41 of 64 ground balls.
Sophomore attackman Jack Bruckner provided the spark Duke so desperately needed to capture the win against the Cavaliers and have a shot at the ACC title. After scoring a hat trick in the first quarter, Bruckner went on to score a career-high seven goals on 13 shots. The seven goals were the most by a Blue Devil since Zach Howell scored seven against Siena Feb. 12, 2011.
“It’s a pretty unbelievable experience for myself,” Bruckner said. “Today shots were just coming to me but any day it could be anyone else.”
After experiencing a slump in the last few weeks, junior midfielder Myles Jones got back to his scoring ways for the home squad. With five points off of two goals and three assists, the Huntington, N.Y., native extended his points streak to 29 games, dating back to Feb. 23, 2014. At 4.7 points per game, Jones remains among the top scoring midfielders in the nation.
“It’s the nature of sports,” Jones said. “You’re going to have one or two bad games. It becomes inevitable. Today I was just really fired up and ready to have fun and this week of practice has been really fun. I was confident.”
The scoring barrage by Bruckner and Jones was set up on the defensive end of the field for Duke. After allowing at least 13 goals in each of their last four games—including 19 against Syracuse March 22—the Blue Devils stepped up the defensive intensity against Virginia.
Much of the success hinged on the play of redshirt freshman goalkeeper Danny Fowler, who had a career day between the pipes. In just his third collegiate start, the Wantagh, N.Y., native captured his first win by tallying a career-high 18 saves against the Cavaliers’ 36-shot flurry.
“It is awesome to get my first win as a starter,” Fowler said. “It was a great confidence boost for our entire defense because we finally put it together. We held somebody to eight goals. We have been giving up more than that these last few weeks, but it’s definitely a big confidence boost for us.”
Fortunately for Duke, Virginia did not do itself any favors with its sloppy offensive play. With the Blue Devils clicking on all cylinders in the second and third quarters—scoring eight goals in that stretch—the Cavaliers turned the ball over 14 times in two quarters and left opportunities on the field. After scoring its second goal in the first quarter, Virginia endured a scoring drought of nearly 15 minutes that allowed Duke to put too much distance between the two teams for the Cavaliers to make up.
Jones said the pressure put on the defensive end may have been a byproduct of senior leadership and motivation heading into the contest.
“Our seniors have never lost to Virginia and they wanted to keep that perfect streak,” he said. “They reiterated all week that we just don’t lose to Virginia. That’s not how we do it around here. We all played for each other and the seniors walked away happy with a perfect streak.”
Since the ACC tournament does not begin for nearly two weeks, the Blue Devils will have to remain focused moving ahead. With the chance to begin a new winning streak on the road, Duke will have to deal with a quick turnaround, as it finishes off a three-game stretch in seven days against Stony Brook and Marquette. There is little time for the team to savor the victory to end the ACC schedule, and now it must move on to avoid falling prey to two opponents ranked in the top 20.
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