LAX ACC Men's Champs!

[burnspbesq]

The men's and women's ACC lacrosse tournaments open today.

The men's semis in Hooville pit Duke against Maryland and Virginia against Carolina, starting at 5:00 eastern on ESPNU, ESPN3, and the watch espn app. Duke is in the first game. The championship game is at 3:00 Eastern on Sunday, also on the same channels.

The women's first round at Koskinen is going on right now, with BC facing Virginia. Maryland and VaTech go at it in the second game. Duke and Carolina have byes, and play the first-round winners tomorrow starting at 1:00. The championship game is at 7:00 Monday evening. All the first round and semifinal games are on RSN, ESPN3 and the watch espn app; the championship game is on the U, ESPN3, and the watch espn app.

Realistically, both Duke teams are locks for the NCAA, and are playing for pride and seeding. Still, it's the ACC Tournament. LGD!

[devildeac]

The men's and women's ACC lacrosse tournaments open today.

The men's semis in Hooville pit Duke against Maryland and Virginia against Carolina, starting at 5:00 eastern on ESPNU, ESPN3, and the watch espn app. Duke is in the first game. The championship game is at 3:00 Eastern on Sunday, also on the same channels.

The women's first round at Koskinen is going on right now, with BC facing Virginia. Maryland and VaTech go at it in the second game. Duke and Carolina have byes, and play the first-round winners tomorrow starting at 1:00. The championship game is at 7:00 Monday evening. All the first round and semifinal games are on RSN, ESPN3 and the watch espn app; the championship game is on the U, ESPN3, and the watch espn app.

Realistically, both Duke teams are locks for the NCAA, and are playing for pride and seeding. Still, it's the ACC Tournament. LGD!

And, don't forget, carolina can always GTH.

[MCFinARL]

C. J. Costabile scores six seconds into the game.

[MCFinARL]

Duke finishes the half with an amazing goal by Josh Dionne that the Maryland goalie never saw coming with one second remaining, to go up 4-3. Overall a very tight first half with strong defensive play on both sides.

[burnspbesq]

I was about to type "Maryland leads,3-3, at the half," when Josh Dionne manufactured a goal-of-the-year candidate with two seconds to go.

Maryland is pressing out hard on defense and doubling early, and Wolf and the mids haven't made the necessary adjustments yet. Wiggy looks good (so, alas, does Amato for Maryland) and our D has been effective.

This one is up for grabs.

[burnspbesq]

Duke leads by two with five and a half to go. Maryland hasn't scored in almost 20 minutes.

[75Crazie]

Wow, that was excrutiating! Wiggy with two HUGE saves in the final 20 seconds! Actually, three saves, because the 2nd one rebounded right to a Maryland player.

[MCFinARL]

Wow, that was excrutiating! Wiggy with two HUGE saves in the final 20 seconds!

Couldn't agree more--a real nail biter. So glad to see Wigrizer playing very well in the late season--goalie play is crucial in the tournament.

[burnspbesq]

Wow, that was excrutiating! Wiggy with two HUGE saves in the final 20 seconds!

Wiggy has arguably had the two best games of his career in the last two games.

The winning goal came on a faceoff that will show as a Maryland win in the box score, but CJ stayed on Holmes to force the errant pass and Patterson made the scoop and the feed. CJ won't win the Teewaaraton, but name a player who does more to win games for his team.

[sduke1986]

WHAT A GAME!!! Nice saves at the end for Duke in a game reminiscent of the 2010 National title game. My question would be, which title game everyone would prefer to see? On one hand we just beat UVA handily but they will no doubt be out for revenge, on the other hand UNC will be out for revenge as well. I think I would prefer a rivalry matchup for the title who's with me?

[MCFinARL]

Wiggy has arguably had the two best games of his career in the last two games.

The winning goal came on a faceoff that will show as a Maryland win in the box score, but CJ stayed on Holmes to force the errant pass and Patterson made the scoop and the feed. CJ won't win the Teewaaraton, but name a player who does more to win games for his team.

True--but I think he has a pretty good chance to be one of the finalists--which is a huge accomplishment for a longstick midfielder. Since we are on a site that is primarily devoted to basketball, I'll make a basketball analogy. He reminds me a bit of Kyle Singler--a guy who does whatever it takes, including a lot of stuff that doesn't show up in the stat line, to give his team a chance to win.

[chrishoke]

Heels lead 7-6 late in the 3rd. Virginia looking pedestrian at home.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Wow, that was excrutiating! Wiggy with two HUGE saves in the final 20 seconds! Actually, three saves, because the 2nd one rebounded right to a Maryland player.


Couldn't agree more--a real nail biter. So glad to see Wigrizer playing very well in the late season--goalie play is crucial in the tournament.


Wiggy has arguably had the two best games of his career in the last two games.

The winning goal came on a faceoff that will show as a Maryland win in the box score, but CJ stayed on Holmes to force the errant pass and Patterson made the scoop and the feed. CJ won't win the Teewaaraton, but name a player who does more to win games for his team.


From what y'all posted, I didn't know who won the game! I had to go to GoDuke to find out
Duke won 6-5! WooHoo! http://www.crazietalk.net/ourhouse/images/smilies/devil9f.gif http://www.crazietalk.net/ourhouse/images/smilies/devil9f.gifhttp://www.crazietalk.net/ourhouse/images/smilies/devil9f.gif http://www.crazietalk.net/ourhouse/images/smilies/devil9f.gif

[Native]

Duke vs. the Holes, Sunday @ 3PM on ESPNU and ESPN3 for all the marbles.

Let's go Duke! 9F

[burnspbesq]

Inside Lacrosse has finally gotten around to posting its March cover story on Coach Dano. Worth a read.

http://insidelacrosse.com/news/2012/04/20/magazine-special-how-john-danowski-leads-blue-devils-march-2012-issue

[devildeac]

Duke vs. the Holes, Sunday @ 3PM on ESPNU and ESPN3 for all the marbles.

Let's go Duke! 9F

As always:

2594

[AtlBluRew]

Inside Lacrosse has finally gotten around to posting its March cover story on Coach Dano. Worth a read.

http://insidelacrosse.com/news/2012/04/20/magazine-special-how-john-danowski-leads-blue-devils-march-2012-issue

Thanks for posting that link. Great article. This is a man that we're lucky to have leading our team and representing our university.

[MCFinARL]

From what y'all posted, I didn't know who won the game! I had to go to GoDuke to find out
Duke won 6-5! WooHoo! http://www.crazietalk.net/ourhouse/images/smilies/devil9f.gif http://www.crazietalk.net/ourhouse/images/smilies/devil9f.gifhttp://www.crazietalk.net/ourhouse/images/smilies/devil9f.gif http://www.crazietalk.net/ourhouse/images/smilies/devil9f.gif

Sorry, Ozzie! Guess we were all still too tense from the close game to remember to report the basics.

[MCFinARL]

Thanks for posting that link. Great article. This is a man that we're lucky to have leading our team and representing our university.

Couldn't agree more. When first hired, he was probably the only person who could have succeeded in the job, given the unique circumstances. Since then he has proven himself to be a great choice all around, not just for that place and time.

[wallyman]

Glad this was posted. There's definitely more than one (or two or three) extraordinary coaches at Duke. Given where he came in, Danowski has done an astounding job on every level.

[chrishoke]

Couldn't agree more. When first hired, he was probably the only person who could have succeeded in the job, given the unique circumstances. Since then he has proven himself to be a great choice all around, not just for that place and time.

Coach D is a perfect fit for Duke.

Now let's beat those damn heels!

[Verga3]

John Danowski is an incredible person and coach. Duke is blessed to have him represent us.

And, what a Duke team player he is. A few years ago, he spoke to the women's soccer team as preparation for their upcomig at UNC...and then he took time out of his weekend to stand on the sidelines at Fetzer to support them.

This is actually not uncommon at Duke, as the cross-pollenation and teamwork between coaching staffs has been evident for awhile. Coach K made a video for our same women's soccer team shown prior to the 2011 Final Four.

[burnspbesq]

Lacrosse Magazine had inside access during Duke's preparation for the Virginia game, and is running a three-part video. Parts 1 and 2 are up, and Part 3 should be up later today.

http://www.laxmagazine.com/college_men/DI/2011-12/news/041912_the_big_game_duke_virginia_lacrosse_episode _one

http://www.laxmagazine.com/college_men/DI/2011-12/news/042012_the_big_game_duke_virginia_lacrosse_episode _two

[Dev11]

John Danowski is an incredible person and coach. Duke is blessed to have him represent us.

And, what a Duke team player he is. A few years ago, he spoke to the women's soccer team as preparation for their upcomig at UNC...and then he took time out of his weekend to stand on the sidelines at Fetzer to support them.

This is actually not uncommon at Duke, as the cross-pollenation and teamwork between coaching staffs has been evident for awhile. Coach K made a video for our same women's soccer team shown prior to the 2011 Final Four.

I've caught Danowski walking out to observe football open practices on the WW field. Seems like a very nice guy who cares about the other athletic goings-on at Duke.

[loldevilz]

Lacrosse Magazine had inside access during Duke's preparation for the Virginia game, and is running a three-part video. Parts 1 and 2 are up, and Part 3 should be up later today.

http://www.laxmagazine.com/college_men/DI/2011-12/news/041912_the_big_game_duke_virginia_lacrosse_episode _one

http://www.laxmagazine.com/college_men/DI/2011-12/news/042012_the_big_game_duke_virginia_lacrosse_episode _two

the third part is already up

[MCFinARL]

Third episode of the Lacrosse Magazine videos on the Duke UVA game now posted:
http://www.laxmagazine.com/college_men/DI/2011-12/news/042112_the_big_game_duke_virginia_lacrosse_episode _three

[burnspbesq]

Crazy day.

Navy lit up Hopkins. Georgetown beat Cuse in the Dome. Brown spoiled Senior Day at Cornell. Fairfield beat Denver. Nova has an early two-goal lead on ND.

Win tomorrow, and Duke could be number three in the polls and number four in the RPI.

[chrishoke]

Hopkins looked dead - Navy had lost three in a row and is not making the tourney.

[MCFinARL]

Hopkins looked dead - Navy had lost three in a row and is not making the tourney.

Didn't see this game, but the score seems bizarre--can't imagine how dead Hopkins must have looked for this to happen.

[burnspbesq]

Hopkins looked dead.

Hard to imagine any team looking deader than the Duke women. :mad:

[MCFinARL]

Hard to imagine any team looking deader than the Duke women. :mad:

Also true, alas. Some of their shots looked more like easy passes to the Maryland goalie--and that was when they actually took shots. Sigh....

[loldevilz]

So excited for Duke vs UNC. Lets beat the tar holes again! Amazing to thin that Duke has been undefeated since starting 3-3 against one of the toughest schedules and without a junior or senior attackman.

[MattC09]

After a slow first half, we came alive in the third quarter. We should be up 3, instead of 2, because of some atrocious refereeing. They have made several bad penalty calls and missed a blatant out of bounds. The team hasn't let it get to them though.

[Mike Corey]

Up 9-7...

Go, clock, go!

[77devil]

Up 9-7...

Go, clock, go!

10-8 nail biter with possession. Finally won a face off.

[OZ]

time?

[MattC09]

2:57 and UNC called a timeout. Still 10-8.

[burnspbesq]

If you'd tole me would be 6-for-22 on face offs and ahead with four minutes to go, I would have suggested a drug test.

[MattC09]

11-9 with 1:36 left.

[Bluedog]

12-9 victory! GTHC, GTH! ACC CHAMPS!

[chrishoke]

12-9 Final. So sweet. GTHCGTH!!!!!!!!!!!

[Mike Corey]

Duke wins, 12-9.

The Blue Devils have won 15 of the last 16 against the Tar Heels.

Fourth ACC Tourney title for Coach Danowski.

Congratulations, Blue Devils.

[burnspbesq]

CJ gets used by Keenan for 55 minutes, but when we need it most he wins three in a row.

Just call him "Tee," as in Teewaaraton.

[MCFinARL]

CJ gets used by Keenan for 55 minutes, but when we need it most he wins three in a row.

Just call him "Tee," as in Teewaaraton.

CJ all day (or at least when it really counts)!

He is money.

[loran16]

CJ all day (or at least when it really counts)!

He is money.

CJ when it counts? I'm shocked; Shocked at this! Wait, never mind.

[DukieInKansas]

Congratulations! The game was a bit nerve wracking to watch - but the outcome was worth every minute of nail biting!

[chrishoke]

Duke has now won 10 games in a row and has put themselves in position to earn a top 4 seed in the NCAA tourney.

[burnspbesq]

Friday night could be really hairy. Denver has put itself firmly on the bubble by losing two in a row. They desperately need a statement win to boost their RPI. And in terms of "neutral site" being a misnomer, playing the Pioneers at The House That Elway Built is even worse than playing Cuse in the swamp.

We need to bring 100 percent of our A game in order to keep momentum heading toward Selection Sunday on May 6.

[MCFinARL]

Friday night could be really hairy. Denver has put itself firmly on the bubble by losing two in a row. They desperately need a statement win to boost their RPI. And in terms of "neutral site" being a misnomer, playing the Pioneers at The House That Elway Built is even worse than playing Cuse in the swamp.

We need to bring 100 percent of our A game in order to keep momentum heading toward Selection Sunday on May 6.

Agreed. If Duke beats Denver, a top-4 seed for the tournament is very likely. If Denver wins, things get iffier, especially since Syracuse's recent loss to Georgetown reduces the value of what was Duke's best out-of-conference win. Of course, I guess it ups the value of Duke's win over Georgetown.... ;)

[Dev11]

And in terms of "neutral site" being a misnomer, playing the Pioneers at The House That Elway Built is even worse than playing Cuse in the swamp.

Meh, we're playing in a stadium that seats 76K+ and they're only selling seats in the lower level. The altitude will have more of an effect than the fans. I'll be loud, don't worry.

[burnspbesq]

Duke moves up to number three in the Nike/IL media poll and number four in the coaches' poll. Loyola and UMass stay at the top. Notre Dame is number three in the media poll. All four ACC teams are in the top ten in both polls.

FWIW in thinking about possible first-round matchups, Penn State is number 14 in the media poll, and Villanova is number 13 in the coaches' poll.

Denver, our last regular season opponent, is number 16 in both polls.

[MCFinARL]

Duke moves up to number three in the Nike/IL media poll and number four in the coaches' poll. Loyola and UMass stay at the top. Notre Dame is number three in the media poll. All four ACC teams are in the top ten in both polls.

FWIW in thinking about possible first-round matchups, Penn State is number 14 in the media poll, and Villanova is number 13 in the coaches' poll.

Denver, our last regular season opponent, is number 16 in both polls.

IIRC, only the top 8 teams in the lax tournament are seeded. Do I remember correctly that the other eight teams are assigned games based on a combination of ranking and reducing travel expenses? Neither Penn State nor Villanova is too far from Duke, but it might depend, as well, on who else is traveling and how all the matchups work out from that point of view. My biggest fear--that Hop will not be in the top 8 and somehow Duke will get them for an opening matchup. Despite their collapse against Navy, that would be a very scary first round opponent, and they have done very well overall against Duke (often on Memorial Day weekend).

[burnspbesq]

The last time we played Hop at Koskinen in the first round, we won 18-5. I think this year's Blue Jays are better than that team, but Navy exposed a lot of weaknesses.

[loldevilz]

Does anybody else think its absurd that UMass is ranked ahead of Duke? Their best win is #12 Penn State. In the last 2 weeks alone Duke has beaten 3 different teams ranked above Penn State.

[burnspbesq]

The committee tries to stick to RPI to the extent possible in setting up first round games, while avoiding first round games between teams in the same conference whenever possible, and hopefully only flying one visiting team to a first-round game.

The normal criterion for flying is over 500 miles. If Denver and Syracuse both miss the tournament, and if Siena wins the MAAC tournament, it makes the committee's job a lot easier. It can feed Siena to UMass, feed the America East champion to Loyola, and then the most likely candidate to fly becomes Colgate, which could easily turn out to be Carolina's first-round opponent.

[MCFinARL]

The last time we played Hop at Koskinen in the first round, we won 18-5. I think this year's Blue Jays are better than that team, but Navy exposed a lot of weaknesses.

I remember that game, and it was very satisfying. But that was a very young and struggling Hopkins team. I just hope if Duke draws Hopkins this year we get the version that has been playing the last few weeks and not the one from earlier in the season. The three 1-goal Final Four losses (2005 and 2007 finals, 2008 semis), all of which I had the misfortune to see live (one seated directly next to the Hopkins band, with their unbelievably annoying riff to mark goals scored), have left me scarred, I guess.

[burnspbesq]

Does anybody else think its absurd that UMass is ranked ahead of Duke? Their best win is #12 Penn State. In the last 2 weeks alone Duke has beaten 3 different teams ranked above Penn State.

Being undefeated has a logic all its own. Unless and until they lose, Loyola and UMass are going to stay 1-2. Notre Dame has every bit as legitimate a beef about this as we do. I think the Irish are playing better than anybody right now. The ease with which they erased Nova's early 4-0 lead on Saturday was ridiculous.

[freedevil]

Admit that I only got home in time to watch the 4th quarter yesterday, but it was so awesome to hear a broadcast about Duke lacrosse that only talked about the action on the field. Congrats to Coach D and the squad on another ACC championship.

[burnspbesq]

I understand the logic behind Patrick Stevens' argument, but unless Loyola loses to Hop this Saturday it's not happening.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/d1scourse/2012/apr/23/lacrosse-bracket-projection-april-23/

[burnspbesq]

Despite Saturday's train-wreck against Maryland, the Duke women remain at number seven in the latest media poll.

[MCFinARL]

Despite Saturday's train-wreck against Maryland, the Duke women remain at number seven in the latest media poll.

Definitely suggests a possible lack of depth in the women's game, IMO.

[burnspbesq]

CJ was named ACC Co-Defensive Player of the Year (with Bernhardt of Maryland), and Dano was named COY.

Stanwick was named offensive POY. Maryland D Goran Murray was named ROY (I think I can hear the Heel fans whining about the cruel injustice dealt to Joey Sankey all the way out here in SoCal, but IMO this was a righteous call).

[Highlander]

Anyone else think the UNC coach's decision to pull their goalie WHILE DUKE WAS STILL ON ATTACK was one of the dumbest moves you've ever seen in sports? Duke scored in less than 5 seconds. It was almost like he was thinking "Hey! I'll pull the goalie while we're playing defense! What a great idea! I wonder why no one ever thought of this befo.... Oh. That's why."

I guess you could liken it to the NFL playoffs where one team lets the other one score to get the ball back, but they didn't HAVE to let Duke score. Let them have a shot and hope your goalie makes a stop. Don't give them an open net.

Anyway, thought that was a pretty boneheaded move.

[burnspbesq]

Anyone else think the UNC coach's decision to pull their goalie WHILE DUKE WAS STILL ON ATTACK was one of the dumbest moves you've ever seen in sports?

Nope. It was the right thing to do under the circumstances, for the following reasons.

If they don't double the ball on the restart, there's a very good chance that Duke retains possession for the rest of the game.

If they double the ball, Carolina stands a very good chance of getting possession, one way or the other. Either they force a turnover, or Duke scores and there is a faceoff (recall that Keenan was absolutely dominant on faceoffs all day). Given Keenan's dominance, Carolina could reasonably expect that if they won the faceoff and scored, they could keep winning faceoffs and have more possessions.

A real defender (either a close defenseman or a d-mid) is much more likely to be effective as the second guy in a double-team than a goaltender.

Also, and this is nit-picky, they didn't "pull" Rastivo. He stayed in the game on attack (you have to have a goaltender on the field at all times, but he doesn't have to be in the defensive end), and they put seven field players in the defensive zone. If they had gotten possession, a d-mid would have come over the midfield line on the clear, Rastivo would have gone back in goal, and the d-mid would have subbed out on the fly for an attackman.

Finally, give credit to Jake for making a great swim-and-spin move to beat the double-team.

[Highlander]

Nope. It was the right thing to do under the circumstances, for the following reasons.

If they don't double the ball on the restart, there's a very good chance that Duke retains possession for the rest of the game.

If they double the ball, Carolina stands a very good chance of getting possession, one way or the other. Either they force a turnover, or Duke scores and there is a faceoff (recall that Keenan was absolutely dominant on faceoffs all day). Given Keenan's dominance, Carolina could reasonably expect that if they won the faceoff and scored, they could keep winning faceoffs and have more possessions.

A real defender (either a close defenseman or a d-mid) is much more likely to be effective as the second guy in a double-team than a goaltender.

Also, and this is nit-picky, they didn't "pull" Rastivo. He stayed in the game on attack (you have to have a goaltender on the field at all times, but he doesn't have to be in the defensive end), and they put seven field players in the defensive zone. If they had gotten possession, a d-mid would have come over the midfield line on the clear, Rastivo would have gone back in goal, and the d-mid would have subbed out on the fly for an attackman.

Finally, give credit to Jake for making a great swim-and-spin move to beat the double-team.

I'll start this out by saying that I have only a passing understanding of the rules of Lacrosse. I know you can only have a certain # of people on each side of the field, and some players aren't allowed to cross over. With respect to the UNC coach's call, here's what I don't understand. If doubling at the beginning was the right play, and if it had worked they would have switched the goalie for a d-mid on attack, why bother? If you leave your goalie in, you can still double the ball. You take a gamble, but the worst thing that can happen is someone gets an open shot on goal. With a goalie in the net, you at least have a shot at a save, which gives you the ball for sure. That seems like better odds to me than giving Duke a free goal if they beat a double team, then having to score 3 goals and win 3 faceoffs in 2 minutes.

I guess you could argue that Duke wouldn't shoot up 2 with the ball, but UNC had no guarantee that Jake would have shot on an open goal after breaking the double team. He could have chosen to pull it back out.

Maybe Jake's move just made the whole thing look too easy for me.