In the Saturday nightcap of NCAA action, Duke played host to the Ohio State Buckeyes. Ohio State had played some teams tough this year, scored some big upsets, but also had some real head scratchers in the their record. When the dust settled though, Ohio State would leave North Carolina with the biggest upset of the tournament so far.
The first quarter was unsettling slow. Duke had really turned on their typical May lacrosse mode during the ACC tournament in late April. Being at home, I was expect a strong start. Instead, Duke would lead 2-1 after one, and no goals were scored for the first eight minutes of play.
The second quarter really started getting things going. Duke kept their scoring going with a quick goal in the first 35 seconds. Unfortunately for the Blue Devils, that would be their last goal of the half. Ohio State would then go on a seven goal run, ending the half up 7-3, and notching the third quarter opener.
Duke did respond with two quick goals in the first few minutes of the third quarter to bring it to 8-5, but Ohio State would continue to dominate for the rest of the game. The Buckeyes scored the next three goals to go up 11-5 before Duke’s Kyle Rowe scored a goal by winning the faceoff and running down the field to score on his own. It was one of the lone bright spots for the Blue Devils on the night. Ohio State would score two more goals to wrap up the quarter up 13-6.
The final quarter saw Duke really go down swinging, but it would be too little, too late. They opened the quarter by scoring two minutes in, but Ohio State would answer right back two minutes later. One minute later, Duke would score and Ohio state answered with two more. After that final Ohio State goal, Jesse King was flagged for unsportsmanlike, giving the Blue Devils a non-releasable man-up. This led to two quick goals, bringing them to 16-10. The last goal of the game came with 2:52 left, giving Ohio State the 16-11 win.
Ohio State really looked in control of this entire game. While Duke was the five seed, this knocks them out much earlier than they are used to. This is just the second time Duke has lost a home NCAA game, and it has been 20 years since that previous disappointment. What is bigger now though is the defending champs will not return to championship weekend, ending the longest active streak in the country at eight. The new leader in that category is Denver with 2. Ohio State now waits to face the winner of Denver versus Brown.
