Before the season began, there was a lot of talk about who would replace John Fay's goal scoring on the men's lacrosse team. Most of the coaches and players believed the man to fill Fay's large shoes would be Greg Patchak.
On Sunday, Patchak proved he's got a large pair of feet himself.
The sophomore attackman scored three goals and had an assist in the second half while leading No. 6 Duke's impressive 11-10 comeback win against seventh-ranked Maryland (2-1 overall, 0-1 in the ACC) at Byrd Stadium in College Park, Md.
Down 9-5 at halftime, the Blue Devils (3-0, 1-0) outscored the Terrapins 6-1 in the second half. Jared Frood dished out three assists in the last two quarters and scored the unassisted game-winning goal with just 3:55 left in the game.
"It was a tale of two halves," Duke coach Mike Pressler said. "In the first half we weren't playing well, we had no rhythm and every miscue we had they capitalized on. Then in the second half we turned to our seniors and just chipped away at the lead."
With about four-and-a-half minutes left in the game, the Blue Devils had an extra-man opportunity and fired off three good shots at point-blank range, but none found the back of the cage. Duke was able to pick up the rebounds, however, and Frood got the chance to win the game. His game-winning shot actually hit Maryland keeper Kevin Healy but then trickled over the line.
"It's kind of funny how things go sometimes," Pressler said. "You get a few good shots that don't go in and then the toughest shot does go in.... I would not call this a pretty game, but this was a big win for us."
Sophomore Scott Bross won the faceoff following Frood's goal and Duke was able to run down the clock, successfully keeping the Terrapins from getting another scoring opportunity.
It was Bross' 10th faceoff won on the afternoon as he outplayed Maryland's Brian Haggerty, whom many consider among the best in the game at winning faceoffs. Bross' efforts earned him high praise from his coach.
"Scott Bross played really well," Pressler said. "He was kind of a wild card for us, and he did a great job against Haggerty. He was the player of the game for us."
But offensively, the story was Patchak. He sparked an offense which outshot Maryland 31-21. Patchak scored four goals on seven shots and tallied five points on the afternoon, four of which came during Duke's second-half comeback.
"[Patchak] was terrific for us," Pressler said. "We rely on Greg to score. He played very well today."
Tied at two after the first quarter, Maryland went on a tear in the second. Although Duke outshot the Terps 11-8 in the second, the Blue Devils allowed seven goals and found themselves down 9-5 at halftime.
But Duke dominated the rest of the way and was able to beat a Terrapins team which has historically given the Blue Devils a lot of trouble. Maryland is quickly becoming one of Duke's biggest rivals and leads the all-time series 47-8.
Although the teams have split the last eight contests dating back to 1994, yesterday's win marked just the second victory in Byrd Stadium in the Pressler era.
"This was an impressive win for us," Pressler said. "We were playing a good Maryland team, it's our ACC opener, it's at Byrd Stadium and we refused to succumb. I'm not happy about the way we played in the first half, but it was great the way the seniors led us in the second."
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