In a game where both offenses struggled to score, Georgetown's finally found the net when it mattered. The No. 7 Hoyas (5-0) used a four-goal burst in the fourth quarter to break open a tie game, then held off a furious rally to win 9-7 over No. 5 Duke (3-3) on an intense Sunday afternoon at Koskinen Stadium.
It was not a lack of shooting that did Duke in. The Blue Devils mustered 38 shots against Georgetown goalie Scott Schroeder, but were held scoreless for almost 29 minutes from the first to the third quarter.
"I'm very disappointed," Duke coach Mike Pressler said. "You can't win with 38 shots and just seven goals. That's the story of the game--you have to put the ball in the goal, and that didn't happen today."
Some of the credit goes to Schroeder, who made nine saves in the decisive fourth quarter before allowing two goals with under a minute left in the game.
"Scott makes big saves at big points in the game," Georgetown coach Dave Urick said. "I keep telling our guys we can't put him in that position where he has to bail us out all of the time, but we'll ride that horse as long as we can."
Duke started the game with two quick goals from Kevin Brennan. Brennan almost had a hat trick after stealing Schroeder's clearing attempt, but his empty-net shot went wide.
Duke's second extra-man goal in the first period gave the Blue Devils a 3-1 lead, but it took almost half the game to score again.
"We came out ready to play, but we slowed down in the second quarter," Brennan said. "We started playing again when it was too late.
While Duke's offense struggled, its defense kept it in the game.
"We couldn't play better on defense," Pressler said. "We were outstanding. I can't fault [goalkeeper] A.J. Kincel, I can't fault the guys in front of him."
Still, the Blue Devils had trouble containing senior Steve Dusseau, who scored five goals in the game. Dusseau now has 17 goals on the season and 93 in his career.
"I was getting good looks at the cage," Dusseau said. "They were a little bit late to slide to me and I was just taking advantage."
The physical game was marked by a scuffle at halftime and a scary collision with two minutes left in the game. The fourth-quarter accident sent Duke preseason All-America Kevin Cassese to the sidelines with an injured shoulder. Duke official have not yet determined the extent of Cassese's injury.
Georgetown also got the best of Duke at the end of the first half. After Kincel left his crease to save a long shot with time running out, a Georgetown attackman used his momentum to level the goalie. A three-on-three melee ensued as Duke defenders came to their goalie's defense. Both sides were assessed unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, with Duke's reserves given another penalty because its players left the bench.
Duke held Georgetown to only one extra-man goal in eight opportunities and won 16-of-19 face-offs, but in the end could not stop the Hoyas from scoring four goals in nine minutes to close out the game.
"I thought we might have worn them down in the fourth quarter with how many numbers we could throw at them," Dusseau said. "Kevin Cassese, one of the best players in the nation, was on the field almost the whole game and it's tough to win games that way."
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