Duke Edges Top-Ranked Virginia in NCAA Semifinal Thriller

Saturday, May 29

Baltimore, Md.

6:30 p.m.

Duke University

Virginia (Semifinals)

Revisiting the Championship Part 3: Duke Edges Virginia

Duke Edges Top-Ranked Virginia in NCAA Semifinal Thriller

5/29/2010 9:00:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

By: Duke Sports Information

BALTIMORE, Md.- Duke University senior Max Quinzani delivered the game-winning goal with 12 seconds remaining as the Blue Devils upset top-ranked Virginia, 14-13, in front of 44,389 fans at the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Semifinals this evening at M&T Bank Stadium. The fifth-seeded Blue Devils advance to Monday's NCAA Championship game against Notre Dame on May 31 at 3:30 p.m.

"We ended up going in front of the goal, playing a little cat and mouse - [Justin Turri] and [Adam] Ghitelman. I came around, wasn't able to get a shot, but was able to get my hands free," senior Ned Crotty said. "Obviously, I like going to Max, so I was looking at the field, I saw him make a cut and kind of threw it behind the guy's head. And Max was there just in time and stuck it."

Quinzani finished with four goals while sophomore midfielder Justin Turri tied a career high with three scores on the night. Duke had difficulty establishing an offensive rhythm early, but went on a 7-0 scoring run late in the third quarter to garner its first win over ACC foe Virginia in the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Devils improve to 15-4 on the season and advance to the program's third NCAA Championship game and second under head coach John Danowski.

"We loved the way the University of Virginia competed for 60 minutes, and our hats certainly are off to those guys," Danowski said. "There was a time in the end of the third quarter, early in the fourth quarter, where maybe they were going to get a little tired. And their kids fought valiantly and fought hard, and played just tremendously in that fourth quarter."

Virginia and Duke traded goals throughout much of the first half, with the Cavaliers taking a 7-5 lead into the locker room. The Cavaliers' largest lead in the game was 8-5 early in the third quarter before the Blue Devils put together their crucial seven-goal run.

The Blue Devils twice tied the game in the opening half, but final second goals by Virginia in both the first and second quarters kept the Cavaliers in front for much of the 30 minutes. It was Duke's extra-man offense in the first half that kept the Blue Devils in the game, as three of the five goals came on man-up opportunities.

With a two-goal lead heading into the third quarter, the Cavaliers grabbed their largest lead of the game, 8-5, 1:11 into the third quarter with a goal from Chris Bocklet.

After being held scoreless for the previous 11:46, Quinzani pulled the Blue Devils back to within two with an unsettled goal at the 8:59 mark. The tally was his 65th of the year and pushed his point streak to 65 games.

That goal from Quinzani sparked a seven-goal run from the Blue Devils over the next 18:13 to put Duke ahead 12-8 lead midway through the fourth quarter.

"I thought Max [Quinzani's] goal, I think it was goal number six, gave us a lot of enthusiasm," Danowski said. "From then on, I thought it was just a battle. It was a pleasure sometimes just to stand there and watch these guys go after it. I was very proud of our kids for playing for 60 minutes and playing hard and just being tough-minded and playing hard physically."

Howell followed Quinzani's score to make it a one-goal game with a highlight-reel score at the 5:35 mark and senior Ned Crotty tied the contest for the third time of the evening just over two minutes later. Quinzani and Crotty connected 1:33 later to give Duke its first lead of the game, 9-8 at the end of the third quarter.

The Blue Devil offense continued to fire on all cylinders in the early minutes of the fourth quarter as Duke added three more goals in the first 2:49 for a 12-8 advantage. Sophomore CJ Costabile tallied his third goal of the year 13 seconds into the frame and Turri and Quinzani added two more goals for the four-goal lead with 12:11 to play in the fourth quarter.

Trailing 12-8 early in the fourth quarter, Virginia began to mount its comeback effort. After being held scoreless for 18:13, the Cavaliers put together a 3-0 run over a span of 3:41 to pull back within one at, 12-11. Rhamel Bratton started the run at the 10:36 mark and Bocklet and Brian Carroll added two more goals.

The Blue Devils stopped the Virginia spurt as Howell and senior Steve Schoeffel connected to make it a 13-11 score at the 4:27 mark. However, the Cavaliers answered with back-to-back goals by Stanwick and Carroll to tie the game at 13 with less than two minutes remaining.

Costabile won a critical faceoff for Duke, and Crotty again found Quinzani for the game-winning goal with 12 seconds remaining. The Cavaliers had an opportunity to tie the game, taking possession on a Duke turnover, but a turnover of their own secured the Blue Devils' victory as the final seconds ticked off the clock.

Quinzani and Turri led all Duke scorers with four points each as Quinzani also recorded a team-best four goals. Howell and Crotty added three points each as the Blue Devils scored on four out of five extra-man opportunities. Duke had the advantage at the faceoff X, where senior Sam Payton led the way, going 15-for-23 with six ground balls. Duke also received key play from rookie Dan Wigrizer, who made seven saves in goal.

Virginia ends the 2010 campaign with a final record of 16-2. Their only losses came against Duke, including tonight's NCAA semifinal contest and a 13-9 Duke victory on April 17 in Charlottesville.

The Blue Devils improve to 19-13 all-time in NCAA Tournament play, and move on to a matchup with No. 20 Notre Dame in Monday's NCAA Championship game. It will mark the program's third appearance in the championship game and gives the Blue Devils a chance to capture their first NCAA title in men's lacrosse.

Notes: Max Quinzani pushed his scoring streak to 65 games ... Quinzani has registered at least three goals in 15 games this season and in 37 times in his career ... With three goals, Quinzani climbed to third in the NCAA records book in career goals in NCAA Tournament games with 33 ... Quinzani also broke the Duke career record for NCAA Tournament games with at least one goal at 12, surpassing Matt Danowski's 11 ... Head Coach John Danowski will appear in his second NCAA Championship game, last appearing in 2007 against Johns Hopkins ... Danowski is 10-3 in NCAA Tournament action at Duke and 14-11 overall ... The Blue Devil seniors are 11-3 all-time in NCAA Tournament play.

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