Lightning does not strike twice for Duke men's lacrosse in ACC tournament final as Syracuse prevails after weather delay

After using a 3-1 run to pull within one goal of the Orange, the last thing the Blue Devils wanted was to have their momentum stalled.

But thanks to a rainstorm and nearby lightning, Duke’s pursuit of an eighth ACC title came to a screeching halt.

Following a three-hour weather delay in the middle of the fourth quarter, the third-seeded Blue Devils fell to fourth-seeded Syracuse 14-8 in the ACC championship final at Fifth Third Bank Stadium in Kennesaw, Ga. After the weather delay and relocation to a nearby turf field at Kennesaw State University to finish the contest, No. 14 Duke came out flat in the final 7:10 of the contest, allowing the No. 7 Orange to explode for a 5-0 run to seal the victory.

Although Duke (10-7) had allowed just 26 goals in its last four games, Syracuse (10-4) made sure that it broke through the improving Blue Devil defense early and often Sunday. Even before the weather delay—imposed once lightning struck within eight miles of Fifth Third Bank Stadium—the Orange jumped out to an early lead in the first two minutes of the game and never looked back. Syracuse’s crisp ball movement and spacing led to five Orange players scoring at least two goals, led by Tim Barber’s four-goal, one-assist performance and Sergio Salcido’s two-goal, four-assist effort. 

Duke fought back after Syracuse’s hot start, tying the game three times at one, two and three goals apiece, but never held a lead in the contest, falling to Syracuse for the third consecutive year in the ACC championship and second consecutive year in the title game.

In their final ACC tournament game, the Blue Devil seniors struggled offensively, going scoreless for the first 40:48 of the contest. Not until All-ACC midfielder Myles Jones broke through on an unassisted bounce shot in the third quarter did a senior and Duke’s first-line midfield of Jones, Chad Cohan and Deemer Class find the back of the net. 

Jones finished the game with two goals on seven shots—extending his active point streak to 52 games—and Class and Cohan remained scoreless for the entire game, despite combining for 15 shots. Fellow senior Case Matheis was also held without a goal after he and Cohan combined for four goals and five assists to lead Duke past Notre Dame 10-9 in Friday’s semifinal.

Syracuse’s ability to slow down all of Duke’s seniors—who combined for 13 points Friday—after getting torched for 16 goals in the teams’ regular season meeting proved to be the difference Sunday, with Orange goalkeeper Evan Molloy recording 13 saves en route to ACC tournament MVP honors. 

But even though Syracuse slowed down the Blue Devils’ stars, for three and a half quarters, Duke’s second-line midfield picked up the slack led by freshman Brad Smith. Smith netted the Blue Devils’ first goal of the game, lining a shot into the upper-left corner of the net. Barely more than six minutes later, sophomore Matthew Giampetroni scored from the left wing for Duke’s second goal, as a Syracuse defender slipped on the attempted ride. Smith recorded his second tally—giving the second line its third goal of the game—in the third quarter after streaking across the box.

After snagging 29 ground balls Friday in the semifinals—seven more than Notre Dame—the Blue Devils were outhustled on the ground by the Orange Sunday. In a sloppy first-half affair, Syracuse jumped out to an 18-13 lead in ground balls, keeping possession out of the Duke sticks. By the end of the contest, the Orange were plus-11 on the ground after collecting six more loose balls than the Blue Devils in the final period to pull away.

Although the defense was unable to corral critical ground balls for much of the afternoon, junior goalkeeper Danny Fowler kept Duke in the game. Fowler finished with a season-high 17 saves despite the Blue Devils’ defensive struggles, which led to 31 Syracuse shots on goal.

On the other end of the field, Duke was only able to put 21 of its 41 shots on goal, with Molloy—who did not face the Blue Devils in the regular season matchup—and the Syracuse defense shutting Duke down after the weather delay.

The Blue Devils will return to action May 8 on Selection Sunday at Boston University for their final game of the season. Faceoff is set for 1 p.m., before Duke discovers its NCAA tournament fate when the Division I selection show airs at 9 p.m. on ESPNU.

Due to weather, a formal press conference was not held after Sunday’s game.