ACC Lacrosse Tournament

[chrishoke]

Duke had to beat Virginia last week in order to avoid a winless ACC regular season to even qualify for the ACC Tourny. In the semis tonight in Philadelphia they are blasting #1 in the nation Notre Dame 12-2 in the 4th quarter. WOW!

[Les Grossman]

Duke up 12-7 over ND w 4.5 minutes left

[Duvall]

Duke up 12-7 over ND w 4.5 minutes left

Alternately, Duke has blown half its lead with a ton of time left in the game.

[devildeac]

Duke had to beat Virginia last week in order to avoid a winless ACC regular season to even qualify for the ACC Tourny. In the semis tonight in Philadelphia they are blasting #1 in the nation Notre Dame 12-2 in the 4th quarter. WOW!

12-2 now 12-8 with 4:14 to go. Nail-biting time.

[Les Grossman]

13-8!
big saves by Fowler

[devildeac]

Tick-tock.

Still 12-8 with 2:38 remaining.

[devildeac]

13-8!
big saves by Fowler

This is with 1:28 to go. Is the lead safe?

[Les Grossman]

on to the Champ game Monday!

This Duke LAX team always seems to gel at the end of the year.

[chrishoke]

13-8 final.

[chrishoke]

And we did it with our best player, Myles Jones hurt.

[Les Grossman]

4 goals on 6 shots

[Duvall]

Looks like Duke will get its first and probably only chance to play for an ACC championship in the 2014-2015 season.

[Les Grossman]

Thats good D, which we didn't see much of first half of season. There was another Duke team recently that bloomed on D, late. hmmmm

[BigWayne]

71% on faceoffs. Did Brendan Fowler suit up or something?

[Bob Green]

Two huge saves by Danny Fowler down the stretch! Myles Jones with a great pass as the shot clock was about to expire. I only watched the last 8:43 of the game as I was working in the yard, but it was an exciting 8:43.

[Les Grossman]

71% on faceoffs. Did Brendan Fowler suit up or something?
I asked my son who was taking face-offs. Same guy, Jack Rowe, I think.

[arnie]

Looks like Duke will get its first and probably only chance to play for an ACC championship in the 2014-2015 season.

Huh? Women's golf; etc later this spring.

[Ima Facultiwyfe]

And we did it with our best player, Myles Jones hurt.

Yes, but he was STILL an awesome factor!
Way to GO Devils!!!!! Love ya!
Love, Ima

[Duvall]

Huh? Women's golf; etc later this spring.

Virginia won the women's golf title last week. (http://www.theacc.com/news/virginia-captures-2015-acc-womens-golf-championship-04-18-2015)

What's left for the etc.? Baseball, track?

[arnie]

Virginia won the women's golf title last week. (http://www.theacc.com/news/virginia-captures-2015-acc-womens-golf-championship-04-18-2015)

What's left for the etc.? Baseball, track?

Sorry, didn't realize that. Guess you're right! When's last school year we didn't win an ACC championship?

[MCFinARL]

Virginia won the women's golf title last week. (http://www.theacc.com/news/virginia-captures-2015-acc-womens-golf-championship-04-18-2015)

What's left for the etc.? Baseball, track?

Women's lacrosse lost in their ACC semi to Syracuse today. Men's golf is playing in the ACC championship right now but they are currently in 8th place after the first day so it's not looking too good. Men's and women's tennis, often competitive, both dropped quarterfinal ACC tournament matches to teams they were ranked higher than (and in the men's case it was that team from down the road). So there's that. And otherwise, yes, I think just baseball and track.

[stals]

Alternately, Duke has blown half its lead with a ton of time left in the game.

Nice glass half empty thought.

[SCMatt33]

Women's lacrosse lost in their ACC semi to Syracuse today. Men's golf is playing in the ACC championship right now but they are currently in 8th place after the first day so it's not looking too good. Men's and women's tennis, often competitive, both dropped quarterfinal ACC tournament matches to teams they were ranked higher than (and in the men's case it was that team from down the road). So there's that. And otherwise, yes, I think just baseball and track.

Technically, there is still rowing, though Duke is not likely to win it.

[juise]

Alternately, Duke has blown half its lead with a ton of time left in the game.

Staaaalll baaaallllll!

[Bob Green]

Duke will face Syracuse in the Championship Game on Sunday at 1 pm. Television coverage will be provided by ESPNU.

http://www.theacc.com/page/championship_m-lacros

[TKG]

Duke will face Syracuse in the Championship Game on Sunday at 1 pm. Television coverage will be provided by ESPNU.

http://www.theacc.com/page/championship_m-lacros

Here's hoping that Coach D and his boys take a page from Coach K's Banner Hunters and play much against a team the second time around. Syracuse whipped our tails in the regular season matchup.

[burnspbesq]

With his second-quarter goal, Myles broke the Duke single-season midfield scoring record held by Deemer Class. He now has 68 points on the year. Both the single-season midfield goal and assist records (held by Rob Rotanz and Jim Gonella, respectively) are in sight.

With 44 goals, Justin Guterding is 13 away from tying the Duke freshman goal-scoring record held by Zack Greer.

[MCFinARL]

Technically, there is still rowing, though Duke is not likely to win it.

Right, thanks.


Here's hoping that Coach D and his boys take a page from Coach K's Banner Hunters and play much against a team the second time around. Syracuse whipped our tails in the regular season matchup.

Yes--two keys to that game were playing in the Dome, which we don't have to do this time, and face-offs, where Duke lost almost all. If our face-off guy has come up with a plan for winning a few more, that will help a lot.

[budwom]

Our best faceoff guy was not healthy then, now he is. This is a major plus.

[SCMatt33]

Since the question was never fully answered, here is an article from Go Duke (http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=210631) on all of Duke's ACC championships. The last academic year in which Duke did not win an ACC title was 1978-79. Until this year, Duke had won Multiple ACC titles in every year dating back to 1991. That streak is likely to end even with a lacrosse win tomorrow. Such is life in the era of expansion with programs like Notre Dame in the mix.

[devildeac]

Women's lacrosse lost in their ACC semi to Syracuse today. Men's golf is playing in the ACC championship right now but they are currently in 8th place after the first day so it's not looking too good. Men's and women's tennis, often competitive, both dropped quarterfinal ACC tournament matches to teams they were ranked higher than (and in the men's case it was that team from down the road). So there's that. And otherwise, yes, I think just baseball and track.

Baseball is 6-15 in the ACC after yesterday's W over VT. That is the least Ws in the ACC so I doubt they'll even qualify for the ACCT. :(

[BigWayne]

If our face-off guy has come up with a plan for winning a few more, that will help a lot.

Well he and his teammates got 71% yesterday, so they either have a plan or there was some sort of unique planetary alignment.

[MCFinARL]

Well he and his teammates got 71% yesterday, so they either have a plan or there was some sort of unique planetary alignment.

Yes, but--face-off match-ups can be pretty individual. Duke's face-off guys got 72% against Georgetown, which was the game just before the Syracuse game, and have been averaging a very respectable 56% on the year. But that didn't stop Syracuse from winning almost 60% of the face offs against Duke, including a horrifying 13 of 16 in the first half. Syracuse's face-off specialist, Ben Williams, is a Tewaaraton nominee and has a killer 69% win mark for the season.

Still, if budwom is right that one of the Rowes has not been healthy and is now, that could make a difference this time for sure.

[devildeac]

Right, thanks.



Yes--two keys to that game were playing in the Dome, which we don't have to do this time, and face-offs, where Duke lost almost all. If our face-off guy has come up with a plan for winning a few more, that will help a lot.

Damn, that was quite the beat down in the Dome. They almost beat us by 2 TDs:o. And Hood wasn't even fouled on the last possession of that game:rolleyes:.

[Native]

Hope Danowski prepares the team for a ten-man ride. Notre Dame switched to it late in the second half, which is one of the things that sparked their comeback bid.

If the clearing game improves and our defense plays like they did for the first three quarters yesterday we'll be a tough out.

[Bob Green]

Game time! ESPNU.

[Bob Green]

Duke off to a strong start up 4-1 halfway through the 1st Quarter.

[Bob Green]

End of 1st Quarter: Duke 6, Syracuse 2.

[MCFinARL]

'Cuse starting the second quarter strong, now 6-4

[Bob Green]

The 2nd Quarter belonged to Syracuse. 9-7 Syracuse at the half.

[Bob Green]

End of 3rd Quarter: Syracuse 12, Duke 10.

[devildeac]

End of 3rd Quarter: Syracuse 12, Duke 10.

Horrible 2Q for Duke. Down 15-12 with 3:09 to go.

[YmoBeThere]

Down 1 with 1:25 to go.

[grossbus]

Geez, had the shot and sent it over the goal.

[YmoBeThere]

Well, you don't need to win the ACC to win a National Championship.

[53n206]

Great game. Played well by both teams. We certainly have improved. Can't wait until the Championship games.

[MCFinARL]

A little frustrating because Duke had some missed opportunities, but overall, a lot to work with a some things to learn from going forward.

[TKG]

Will be interested in our seeding and our bracket.

[Olympic Fan]

It's disappointing because this loss means that Duke almost certainly won't win an ACC title this school year. Duke is not winning baseball and is not likely to win track and field.

At the same time, it doesn't preclude another national title in lacrosse.

As of this moment, Duke is 25th in the Director's Cup standings, a little below normal at this point. But Duke usually rolls up the points in spring, especially in women's golf and men's lacrosse. Both of those seem a bi down from Duke's usual standards. It remains to be seen how many spring points we get this year. Id like to get into the top 20 ...

[burnspbesq]

A number of positives today, but also a couple of negatives.

Los Hermanos Rowe sent Ben Williams to his worst day of the year (11-29; Cal Paduda was 0-3 in limited duty).

We killed Cuse's off-ball defense. Brandon Mullins may have ball-watched his way out of a first-team All-America selection.

Given the quality of the looks that Cuse got, I'm not worried about Danny Fowler.

After finals and the BU game, our guys become professional lacrosse players, and will have plenty of time for extra film work and on-field time to clean up the defensive issues that re-emerged today.

Negatives:

Our off-ball defense was every bit as bad as Cuse's. We weren't ball-watching, but we got beat by cutters all day, and doubling Rice to force the ball out of his stick didn't work.
.
We went 0-4 on man-up, and gave up three man-down goals.

We went with a five-man midfield rotation all weekend. The second unit got zero shifts. That's not going to work when it's 85 degrees and 55 percent humidity. The staff has to throw Keenan, Scott, and Seau or Gill out there and trust them to make plays.

Do we really want to move up to the number four or five seed? That could give us a road quarterfinal, at altitude, against Denver. Frankly, I'd rather be the six seed, play Yale or Brown in the first round, and then play Maryland in Annapolis.

There were a couple of really bad (I mean Karl Hess bad) calls. The penalty on Yanulis was bogus; the push was not from behind, and that cost us a goal when the funky bounce on the rebound delivered the ball to Staats all alone in front. Wardwell did not win the race to the end-line after saving Myles' shot in the 6-on-4 opportunity (heck, Wardwell couldn't beat me to the end-line with a two-step head start).

[MCFinARL]

A number of positives today, but also a couple of negatives.

Los Hermanos Rowe sent Ben Williams to his worst day of the year (11-29; Cal Paduda was 0-3 in limited duty).

We killed Cuse's off-ball defense. Brandon Mullins may have ball-watched his way out of a first-team All-America selection.

Given the quality of the looks that Cuse got, I'm not worried about Danny Fowler.

After finals and the BU game, our guys become professional lacrosse players, and will have plenty of time for extra film work and on-field time to clean up the defensive issues that re-emerged today.

Negatives:

Our off-ball defense was every bit as bad as Cuse's. We weren't ball-watching, but we got beat by cutters all day, and doubling Rice to force the ball out of his stick didn't work.
.
We went 0-4 on man-up, and gave up three man-down goals.

We went with a five-man midfield rotation all weekend. The second unit got zero shifts. That's not going to work when it's 85 degrees and 55 percent humidity. The staff has to throw Keenan, Scott, and Seau or Gill out there and trust them to make plays.

Do we really want to move up to the number four or five seed? That could give us a road quarterfinal, at altitude, against Denver. Frankly, I'd rather be the six seed, play Yale or Brown in the first round, and then play Maryland in Annapolis.

There were a couple of really bad (I mean Karl Hess bad) calls. The penalty on Yanulis was bogus; the push was not from behind, and that cost us a goal when the funky bounce on the rebound delivered the ball to Staats all alone in front. Wardwell did not win the race to the end-line after saving Myles' shot in the 6-on-4 opportunity (heck, Wardwell couldn't beat me to the end-line with a two-step head start).

This is a very good analysis.

I'm curious about the midfield rotation. As the commentators noted, greater depth was an advantage for Syracuse and may have made a small difference here--but could make a much bigger difference in May when it gets warmer. Are Seau and Gill seen as too raw still? Keenan, certainly, has a lot of experience (albeit some on attack); is he still paying for his earlier suspension?

[sagegrouse]

This is a very good analysis.

I'm curious about the midfield rotation. As the commentators noted, greater depth was an advantage for Syracuse and may have made a small difference here--but could make a much bigger difference in May when it gets warmer. Are Seau and Gill seen as too raw still? Keenan, certainly, has a lot of experience (albeit some on attack); is he still paying for his earlier suspension?

I thought we were gopnna "die" in the 2H, but we didn't. The team held together remarkably well, and just needed to make one more play.

[burnspbesq]

This is a very good analysis.

I'm curious about the midfield rotation. As the commentators noted, greater depth was an advantage for Syracuse and may have made a small difference here--but could make a much bigger difference in May when it gets warmer. Are Seau and Gill seen as too raw still? Keenan, certainly, has a lot of experience (albeit some on attack); is he still paying for his earlier suspension?

I think i can guess at what Coach Caputo's answer would be:

"Myles is a once-in-a-generation talent. In a five-man rotation, he can be on the field for 70-80 percent of our possessions, vs. 50-60 percent in a conventional two-line setup."

But i still like the ideal of getting the second unit at least a couple of shifts per quarter, so that Myles is still at full strength in the fourth quarter. It's also helpful to get Seau and Gill some minutes as freshman, so that they are more ready to step up next year when Keenan and Scott will be gone. But then again, neither Dave Lawson nor Jake Tripucka contributed much of anything as freshmen.