One would think a moral victory would be gained after walking away with a 17-15 loss to the team that's won 12 of the last 13 national championships.
This scenario transpired Sunday in Baltimore, where the lacrosse team lost to Hobart. The only problem is that Hobart has been dominating the Division III national championship, not Division I.
Hobart is a team full of good players, and they certainly are used to playing in high-pressure games. But Duke was expecting to win this game and move a step closer to an invitation to the NCAA Division I tournament.
"Basically, they came out ready to play," said co-captain Chris Affolter. "They wanted it more and they came out to win."
The key to the game was the aggressive style of Hobart's offense. Instead of being intimidated by a Duke team on a three-game win streak, the Hobart midfielders successfully transitioned the ball from one side of the field to the other, setting up many fast-break opportunities. It was this type of play that eventually gave Hobart the win.
"It was a very close game," said Affolter. "We would score one, and then they would score one, back and forth until it was 15-15."
At this point Hobart came back and continued the trend, cashing in on another opportunity to take a 16-15 lead with time running out.
At this point Duke knew it was do-or-die as the Blue Devils rushed down the field for what would be their last opportunity. After a failed attempt, Hobart resorted to its quick transition game and notched another score as Duke tried to knock the ball away for one final try.
Duke was in the game until the final seconds thanks to the offensive contributions of junior Ross Moscatelli. Moscatelli added four goals and two assists in one of Duke's largest offensive outputs of the year. Duke will need this type of firepower as it enters the final few games of the season.
Duke's next games come against Virginia, Princeton and an unnamed ACC tournament opponent. Due to the loss against Hobart, Duke is looking for two wins in these three games to push the Blue Devils off the tournament bubble. Looming large in the future is a possible ACC tournament matchup against North Carolina, a team which pasted Duke 23-9 earlier this year.
"Our road is much tougher after this loss and our next three games become much more important," said Affolter.
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