CHAPEL HILL--The last time the lacrosse team won an Atlantic Coast Conference championship, Dwight Eisenhower was president.
On Sunday afternoon at North Carolina's Fetzer Field, the No. 7 Blue Devils snapped their 41-year drought winning the ACC tournament with a 14-6 victory over No. 8 North Carolina. To reach the finals, Duke defeated top-seeded, No. 2 Virginia 17-10 on Friday night.
"First thing that hits me is 41 years--41 years since we've won an ACC lacrosse championship," Duke head coach Mike Pressler said. "That's a lot of time. I'm only 35 years old. Wow, that's a long time."
Pressler joined the Duke program five years ago. Prior to the weekend, he had never won an ACC tournament game nor beaten North Carolina. The Blue Devils entered the tournament having lost 12 straight to the Tar Heels--a streak dating back to 1987.
But both of those statistics were eradicated over the weekend. And it was the seniors, who comprise the first class that Pressler recruited, who shined.
"Our offense lives and dies with Scott Harrison, Steve Finnell, Ross Moscatelli and Matt Ogelsby--those four seniors," Pressler said. "These guys have been three- and four-year starters. We go if they go. When they're terrific, we can beat anybody, and they were terrific this weekend."
Those four players accounted for over half of the Blue Devil goals in the tournament. Moscatelli was especially impressive, winning MVP honors for the tournament. He notched a hat trick and an assist in each game.
Moscatelli and the rest of the seniors have helped turn the lacrosse program around during their four years at Duke. Their goal since they matriculated was to win the ACC tournament as seniors. Sunday, they made sure they reached that goal.
"We just wanted it more than they did," Moscatelli said. "We've worked too hard for the last four years. Our seniors made sure everyone was ready for this game, and we came out with that desire inside of us."
The Blue Devils dominated all facets of the game. With timely scoring and stifling defense, they took the Tar Heels out of the contest and never let them back in.
The Tar Heels struck first to go on top 1-0, just 2:17 into the game. But they would not singe the net again for almost 30 minutes, as Duke's defense held Carolina scoreless until the third quarter.
The leader of the defense was junior goalie Joe Kirmser. Kirmser gave up 13 goals when Duke lost to UNC less than a month ago. But on Sunday, he was on a mission.
"I think this weekend I was in some kind of a zone," Kirmser said. "I know it sounds idealistic, but I just go out there trying to have fun. And I sure had fun this weekend. Especially today, I was fired up for this one, and I felt I really had something to prove."
Prove it he did. Kirmser was a key for the Blue Devils in both games. He thwarted multiple 1-on-1s and other shots, while constantly starting Duke's offensive attack with long, quick outlet passes.
Meanwhile, the Blue Devil offense was in high gear all weekend. It had struggled at times this year, by either forcing shots too early or by holding onto the ball too long. But neither was the case over the weekend.
Duke had jumped out to a 6-1 lead over Carolina at halftime behind two goals from Moscatelli and another pair from junior James Heavey. The Blue Devils came out of the break determined to keep the Tar Heels out of the game.
"It was very important for us to get some goals right away," Moscatelli said. "Whether I score or anyone else scores, it doesn't matter. We just had to score and not give UNC a chance to get back in it."
Nine seconds into the second half, sophomore Alex Whitten took a pass from Heavey and scored on a 4-on-3 breakaway. Moscatelli added a goal less than two minutes later to record his second hat trick of the tournament, and it looked like Duke, leading 8-1, was going to run away with the win.
But the Blue Devils only scored once more in the third. Sophomore defender Tyler Hardy, snuck up the middle of the field and beat North Carolina goalie Rocco D'Andria after taking a pass from Moscatelli to make the score 9-3. The Tar Heels added two goals, however, and trailed only 9-5 entering the final period. It was then that the Blue Devils put away the pesky Tar Heels once and for all.
Duke came out with five straight goals to grab a 14-5 lead. It held Carolina scoreless for much of the period until the Tar Heels tallied a meaningless goal with only 14 seconds left in the game.
"We made a point at the beginning of the fourth period not to get conservative," Pressler said. "I told our players that we were going to attack and keep taking it to them. We did not want to let up. If Carolina had any thought of getting back in the game, it got crushed right then. Wham--six seconds into the period, we scored."
All weekend the Blue Devils met such gut checks with apparent ease. They did not simply hope to win the tournament, they expected to win it.
"We reeked with confidence," Pressler said. "I was a little boastful in the athletic department on Thursday. I said, `Come see us, because we're going to win this thing. We're going to be playing on Sunday.' That wasn't said in a cocky way. We just knew that this thing was coming.
"You could see that in practice. Our seniors were all stepping forward. You win with great leadership--with eight or nine guys that are so driven they refuse to lose. When you see that kind of building all week in practice, as a coach, you feel good about your chances."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.