No. 8 Duke men’s lacrosse slips in second half against No. 14 Virginia

With two minutes left on the clock, Duke sophomore Kyle Colsey completed a hat trick to give his side a glimmer of hope. The Blue Devils were down 13-10, and needed something special for a turnaround. A timeout was called, and the whole of Koskinen Stadium held its breath.

But instead of a heroic play to build up a comeback, the home team fumbled — turning the ball over to Virginia, which then quickly switched into a counterattack. The Cavaliers finished the upset by smashing the ball into the empty, unguarded net.

No. 8 Duke fell to No. 14 Virginia at home Saturday afternoon, losing 14-10 in its second consecutive defeat. Despite a dogfight of a first half where both teams were evenly matched, the Blue Devils struggled in a chaotic second half, giving up nine goals and scoring just four against a relentless Cavalier charge. The defeat marked the first time that Duke has lost to Virginia in Durham, signaling a historic day for the opposition. Indeed, the Cavaliers’ last regular-season victory against the Blue Devils was 21 years ago before this game.

On paper, Duke (8-2, 0-2 in the ACC) should have won the matchup: It outshot Virginia (7-4, 2-0) 47-34, forced more turnovers and was even up a man on three separate occasions. Whilst it was true that Cavalier goalkeeper Jake Marek did a superb job and racked up 13 saves, the Blue Devils’ abnormal inefficiency ultimately doomed them.

Duke started the game on the back foot, as Virginia won the very first faceoff of the game and proceeded to blitz the Blue Devils on offense. The Cavaliers scored on their first shot, courtesy of captain Joey Terenzi. Disaster struck barely a minute later, as Virginia managed to put another ball in the back of the net. Amidst a crumbling defense and down 2-0, Duke head coach John Danowski called a timeout.

That break proved to be crucial. The Blue Devils not only won the next faceoff, but pressed Virginia into a tight position. Senior midfielder Max Sloat was there to take a shot, scoring Duke’s first goal of the game. The two ACC foes then traded attempts, but both teams were able to clear the danger.

Halfway through the first quarter, the Blue Devils pulled off another great attack, resulting in a goal for midfielder Benn Johnston. The junior’s 100th career point evened the score for Duke, but the Blue Devils barely had time to breathe. The Cavaliers managed to squeeze in another goal right towards the end of the period, with Terenzi providing the assist this time.

The top-20 matchup was as intense as expected — Terenzi proved to be Duke’s nemesis today, as the Virginia captain added another assist to put his team up 4-2. The visitors’ celebrations were short-lived, however, as goals by freshman Michael Ortlieb and sophomore Kyle Colsey quickly tied things back up. However, the Blue Devils’ next attack sequence proved to be too open, as Colsey’s older brother Ryan was left wide open to put the Cavaliers up 5-4.

With three minutes left of the half, Duke’s resilient efforts were finally rewarded. In a mere 12-second time frame, Ortlieb provided two vital assists for the Blue Devils, giving the home team a 6-5 lead.

The back-and-forth battle continued on through the second half, as the visitors got an early goal coming out of the locker room. Just like the beginning of the first half, Virginia took advantage of the dazed Blue Devils, scoring again just a minute later. Despite this setback, Duke kept on pushing — and it was Ortlieb again who stepped up to the occasion. The freshman smashed in a goal from a quick offensive effort, which would be his second of the day.

Unfortunately for the home team, the Cavaliers’ firepower proved to be too much. Three consecutive Virginia goals ensued, with Ryan Colsey completing a hat trick, and the Blue Devils were left searching for an answer. Up a man in the fourth quarter, Duke quickly overpowered the Cavaliers and Ortlieb delivered yet another assist. On the other side, Terenzi was quick to respond, scoring his second goal to mark his career-best points tally.

Kyle Colsey, not wanting to be outshone by his older brother, managed to run all the way to right in front of the opposition’s net. The sophomore then calmly tapped in his second goal, cutting the deficit to two. Virginia was not fazed, though; two more goals followed to give the Cavaliers their biggest lead of the afternoon, 13-9.

After the defeat, Duke has much to reflect upon, as the team is still searching for its first conference victory of the season. The Blue Devils will travel to Brookville, N.Y., next Saturday to take on No. 10 Cornell, hoping that a win will boost their confidence.