When attacker Dan Flannery decked Ohio State goalie Mike Rimmer midway through the second quarter to force a turnover, the Buckeyes knew then that the Duke attack would be fearless and relentless.
Flannery’s hit set the tone for a nine-goal run by the No. 2 Blue Devils (11-0, 2-0 in the ACC), who led 9-2 halftime on the way to a decisive 21-8 victory over Ohio State (2-5) Saturday.
Duke’s offense has exploded in recent weeks, scoring quickly and continuing the onslaught throughout the game. The last time the team scored 20 goals in consecutive games was in 1999, when the Blue Devils made it to the NCAA quarterfinals.
“[This game] was a continuation of how we have been playing the past couple of weeks,” head coach Mike Pressler said. “We are getting on people early and making them come from behind.”
Duke’s win clears the way for the televised matchup of the country’s top teams next weekend in Baltimore. When the Blue Devils face top-ranked John Hopkinson Homewood Field, the Blue Jays, who play unranked Albany this week, should still be undefeated as well.
“This win here is a big boost,” Fenton said. “We are going to go [into Baltimore] with everything we’ve got, it’s the biggest game of the year.”
After the Blue Devils opened up a seven-goal lead at the half, they doubled it, coming out firing in the third quarter and scoring seven straight.
“There’s always that fear of teams coming back,” midfielder Kyle Dowd said. “We stay on them, jump on them and then put them away.”
The second half began with an entry pass through traffic from Matt Danowski to Zack Greer, who scored with ease. Danowski and Greer paced the Blue Devils with four goals apiece.
“With a kid like Zack inside, you can throw it anywhere and it’s going to get to him,” Danowski said. “He can handle anything, so we try to throw it in there.”
Duke continues to exhibit balanced scoring as 10 players recorded a goal and seven finished with more than one point.
“We are just sharing the ball as a team,” Dowd said. “We have six different guys that can score.”
Last year, Ohio State upset Duke 16-9 in Columbus. Pressler attributes the different outcome this year to the experience of his team and its relentless style of play.
“Last year we didn’t come ready to play,” goalie Aaron Fenton said. “We were really confident and they just took it to us. This year we had a lot of payback and wanted to give them a long bus ride home.”
Fenton only faced eight shots in the first half, crediting team defense for the quick start.
Not even the weather, much less Ohio State, could stop the men’s lacrosse team from notching their new Duke-record 11th straight win.
The lightning, which evoked a 36-minute delay at the start of the fourth quarter, did nothing to halt the Blue Devil’s thunderous offense. Duke scored two quick goals shortly after the break in action.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.