Duke’s Cinderella story has come to an end—for now.
After leaping up three spots in conference rankings in their last two games to secure a spot in the ACC tournament, the seventh-seeded Blue Devils fell to second-seeded and top-ranked Notre Dame 1-0 Tuesday night in the first round at South Bend, Indiana. Duke now awaits selections for the NCAA tournament, which will be revealed Nov. 18.
Although the Fighting Irish (12-1-5, 7-1-3 in the ACC), controlled the pace for much of the game, they struggled to find holes in the Duke (8-5-6, 3-3-5) defense. The absence of sophomore Zack Mathers, who has been a major defensive presence for the Blue Devils this season, was sorely felt. Mathers was ineligible to play against Notre Dame after receiving a red card in the Blue Devils' regular season closer last Friday against Clemson.
Still, Duke’s defense, coming off a 194-minute 26-second shutout streak, was able to keep up with the Fighting Irish throughout the first half, fighting through frigid 25-degree temperatures. Late in the first half, senior defender Will Donovan managed to clear a ball before Notre Dame was able to complete a play in the final third. Redshirt senior goalkeeper Alex Long, who has recorded five shutouts over the course of the season, finished the game with six saves, bringing his season total to 77.
Duke was able to sweep away all of Notre Dame’s attempts in the first period, but collected a stunning twelve fouls along the way.
By the second half it was clear that this time Duke’s stout defense wouldn’t be able to carry the load for its anemic offensive output. After failing to record any shots on goal in the first half, the Blue Devils mustered only three in the second period.
In contrast, the Fighting Irish came out reenergized and refocused after the break, exhibiting why they currently lead the ACC in average shots on goal per game. They attempted thirteen shots on goal in the second half alone. Notre Dame’s Patrick Hodan was finally able to break through in the 59th minute of the game off a free kick from Fighting Irish leading scorer Harrison Shipp.
As the Blue Devils found themselves in a hole during the closing minutes of the game, they were able to attempt some of their best chances of the entire contest. Junior midfielder Sean Davis took a long range shot with twelve minutes remaining in regulation, but Notre Dame goalkeeper Patrick Wall intercepted it to keep the Fighting Irish in the lead. Davis then took a corner kick for the Blue Devils to attempt a game equalizer, but Duke committed a foul on Wall and was not able to gain the point.
Duke and Notre Dame’s Sept. 27 contest played out much the same way, with the Blue Devils and Fighting Irish locked in a 1-1 defensively driven contest until Notre Dame fired off two successful shots in the closing minutes of the game to end with a 3-1 victory.
In the latest release of the RPI, Duke ranked 42nd, and the tournament takes 48 teams from across the nation. Last season, the Blue Devils did not receive an NCAA bid.
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