Neither a 25-minute rain delay nor Navy's typically stingy defense could slow down Duke Saturday night.
Under the lights in a muddy Koskinen Stadium, the No. 3 Blue Devils jumped all over the Midshipmen in the first half and never looked back. The result was a 10-0 lead at halftime, and an eventual 14-5 win for Duke over the Patriot League champions in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
With the win, the Blue Devils (14-3) advanced to their third straight national quarterfinals, where they will meet No. 6 North Carolina for the third time this season. Duke defeated the Tar Heels during the regular season and again in the ACC tournament finals, and their final matchup of the year will take place next Sunday afternoon in Annapolis, Md.
Before reaching the quarters, though, Duke had to beat a team that was playing as well as it had all year. Navy (11-5) had just won its conferene tournament avenged two of its regular-season losses, but Saturday, Duke sailed past the Midshipmen.
After a scoreless first four minutes, Brad Ross put the Blue Devils on the board with a low, bouncing shot. Robert Rotanz scored with just under seven minutes to play in the first quarter to make it 2-0, and with that, the floodgates were open, although the rain mercifully held off the rest of the way.
Duke led 6-0 at the end of the period, and extended that lead to 10 by intermission.
"I'm at a loss for words," head coach John Danowski said. "Nobody expects to go up 10-0 in the first round of playoffs, especially against Navy. I'm not so surprised at the 10, but certainly surprised by the zero."
Unlike in past years, in which Matt Danowski and Zack Greer might have dominated the box score in a game like this one, 10 Blue Devils recorded points Saturday.
In Duke's 10-0 run to open the game, eight different Blue Devils got on the scoreboard, with only Ross and attackman Zach Howell scoring twice.
The Blue Devils' offense, though, was successful partly because of the team's stellar defensive display. Navy won 9-of-2 faceoffs in the decisive first half, which would normally provide the Midshipmen with a tremendous advantage in time of possession.
But Duke's midfield and defense forced turnover after turnover, leading to odd-man situations and transition opportunities in the offensive zone.
Junior Parker McKee exemplified that performance Saturday-he recovered 14 ground balls on his own, while the entire Navy squad recovered just 33 for the game. He and the rest of the defense harried the opposition into errant passes all night, and were able to prevent the Midshipmen from getting point-blank chances in front of goal.
"I think we pack it in a lot more in the middle so guys aren't getting those open looks anymore right in front of the crease," McKee said. "The close defensemen are taking a lot of ownership of their men and not letting them get any looks."
Duke's defense will have to be on top of its game to contain a Tar Heel offensive unit that notched 13 goals in the ACC final defeat to the Blue Devils and 15 goals in its first round win against Maryland-Baltimore County.
UNC sophomore Billy Bitter scored eight goals on just nine shots in that contest and now has 69 points on the year-one more than Ned Crotty, Duke's leading scorer and the ACC Player of the Year.
"The Duke-UNC rivalry is something that has been great, especially since I've been here, and it's gotten even better this year as [head coach Joe] Breschi has done a great job for them," Crotty said. "They're playing their best lacrosse now, so we're really excited to play them again."
And if the first half Sunday against North Carolina mirrors last Sunday's first half against Navy, Crotty will have plenty to be excited about.
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