FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The third trip to the Final Four was not the charm for No. 3 Duke.
In fact, Saturday's national semifinal was arguably the worst performance in the Blue Devils' 29-game postseason history.
No. 2 Syracuse dominated No. 3 Duke (15-4) in every statistical category, outshooting the Blue Devils 48-32, winning eight more faceoffs and icing a red-hot Duke team that had won 12 of its previous 13 games in a 17-7 blowout at Gillette Stadium.
The Orange (16-2) won the NCAA championship Monday against Cornell in a 10-9 overtime classic after trailing by three with four minutes left.
The Blue Devils' loss was their second straight in the national semifinals and third straight on Championship Weekend. The Blue Devils lost to Johns Hopkins in last year's Final Four and two years ago in the championship game.
The 17 goals allowed Saturday were the most since 2004-before head coach John Danowski came to Duke or any player on the current roster wore a Blue Devil uniform. The 10-goal rout was easily the most lopsided defeat of the year, and also represented the biggest loss the program has suffered in the postseason. The previous worst was a mere three goals.
"They punched us in the mouth early, give them credit for that," attackman Max Quinzani said. "They didn't allow us to have long possessions, and then we started running around like chickens with our heads cut off."
Quinzani said the team never solved the Orange's defensive scheme in large part because when Duke did have the ball, it quickly lost possession due to forced turnovers or sloppy offensive play.
Near the end of the first quarter, though, Duke had managed to play Syracuse to a draw. After the Blue Devils gave up two early goals, attackman Zach Howell scored twice less than two minutes apart to knot the game at two. But in less than one minute, the Orange shifted the momentum heavily in its favor.
With 35 seconds remaining in the period, Syracuse attackman Patrick Perritt nailed a shot from the right side that barely snuck past well-positioned goalie Rob Schroeder for the one-goal lead. And as time wound down, a diving Kenny Nims scored over Schroeder's left shoulder to give Syracuse a two-goal lead. Duke would not tie the game again.
In fact, the Blue Devils would not even keep the game competitive. Syracuse outscored Duke 10-4 over the next two periods, including a back-breaking goal seven seconds into the second half that pushed the Orange's lead to five.
"We know Syracuse likes to play to their strengths and they knew exactly what those strengths were," head coach John Danowski said. "Coming into the game, I thought we had a plan for that, but they had some tremendous looks and plays.
Those open players often found themselves right in front of the net, as quick passing and fluid movement left numerous Syracuse attackmen with only Schroeder to beat.
And once the Orange started piling on the goals, Duke didn't know how to react.
"It's been a long time since we've been behind in a game, so I think we began pressing a little bit," Danowski said. "Everyone probably has a hand in this, but we won't know until we look at the video, which probably won't happen until 2012 or 2013."
By then, the Blue Devils may have a national title under their belt-but for now, they will have to settle for another unfulfilling Final Four.
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