After advancing to eight straight Final Fours in head coach John Danowski's first eight years at Duke, fighting for national titles in late May had become routine for the Blue Devils. But for the second straight season, Duke is heading home after the tournament’s first weekend.
Although they fell behind 2-0 early in the first half, the Blue Devils scored five goals in 6:31 to build a lead they would not relinquish. The Greyhounds got within 8-6 with 20:11 remaining in the game, but Duke went on another 5-0 spurt thanks to its ability to control the ball.
Duke will open the NCAA tournament on the road for the first time since head coach John Danowski took over in 2007 Saturday against seventh-seeded Loyola Saturday at noon at the Ridley Athletic Complex.
Duke will open the NCAA tournament facing Loyola in a first-round contest featuring two top-five goalkeepers Friday at 5 p.m. at Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill.
Deemer Class scored five goals to wrap up the regular season against Boston University, and Kyrie Irving had a big week in the pro ranks for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
In the two teams’ regular-season finale, No. 10 Duke ran away from Boston University 15-8 Sunday afternoon at Nickerson Field in Boston, using a 5-0 second-quarter run spanning 7:30 to turn an early 2-1 deficit into a commanding 6-2 lead.
The No. 14 Blue Devils were awarded an at-large tournament berth selection Sunday night when the NCAA revealed this year’s tournament field of 26 teams. Duke will face a first-round matchup against Loyola Friday at 5 p.m. in Chapel Hill.
After a disappointing finish in the ACC championship game and a week off due to finals, the Blue Devils will look to close the regular season on a high note before finding out their NCAA tournament fate.
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.
Off the faceoff violation, Ben Scharf scooped the ball, carrying it into the Blue Devils’ offensive zone and a pair of quick feeds then put the ball in the stick of Tewaarton Award finalist Myles Jones.
The fourth-seeded Blue Devils got off to a hot start for the second straight day, jumping out to a 3-0 lead against North Carolina and seizing a 6-4 lead early in the second half before eventually falling 7-6.
Although two young lacrosse teams each committed 15 turnovers in a back-and-forth contest, the Blue Devils made the most out of their shot opportunities Thursday to advance to the semifinals of the ACC tournament.
After dominating their last two opponents of the regular season, the No. 14 Blue Devils will travel to Kennesaw, Ga., Friday for a 8:30 p.m. rematch against No. 4 Notre Dame in the ACC championship semifinals at Fifth Third Bank Stadium.
After playing their last five games against higher-ranked conference foes, the Blue Devils will look to rely on their back line experience to guide them through the postseason.
Duke lacrosse routed then-No. 15 Marquette 16-1 Friday night to bolster its NCAA tournament hopes.
Sportswrap is your one-stop shop for everything that happened this weekend in Duke athletics. This week's print edition features senior Myles Jones, who made history during the Blue Devils' 16-1 rout of No. 15 Marquette Friday night.
No. 3 North Carolina used a dominant 7-0 first half run to roll to an easy 16-8 win on its Senior Day against No. 15 Duke in another edition of the Tobacco Road rivalry Saturday at Fetzer Field.
No. 16 Duke dismantled No. 15 Marquette 16-1 at Koskinen Stadium, exposing the Golden Eagles’ top-ranked scoring defense, which arrived in Durham allowing just 6.5 goals per game.
After dropping a 10-9 overtime heartbreaker to then-No. 10 Notre Dame, No. 15 Duke makes the short trip to Chapel Hill to play No. 3 North Carolina in the battle for Tobacco Road bragging rights Saturday at 2 p.m.
With its ACC regular season in the rearview mirror, No. 16 Duke hosts No. 15 Marquette in the Blue Devils’ home finale 7 p.m.
