Robertson OT Goal Lifts No. 1 Duke to Victory over UNC

Thursday, April 1

Durham, N.C.

7 P.M.

Duke University

10-0, 2-0

North Carolina

8-1, 1-1

North Carolina

Duke University

Joe Robertson scores the game winner against UNC in overtime

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Robertson OT Goal Lifts No. 1 Duke to Victory over UNC

4/2/2021 12:05:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse

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DURHAM, N.C.—Duke senior captain Joe Robertson dove his way to victory with 47 seconds remaining in overtime to lift the top-ranked Blue Devils to a heart-stopping 12-11 win over No. 2 North Carolina in ACC men's lacrosse action Thursday night at Koskinen Stadium. The goal was the fourth of the night for Robertson as he finished with seven points for the Blue Devils.

Duke improves to 10-0 on the year and 2-0 in league action. The 10-0 mark is the best by a Blue Devil squad through 10 games since the 2005 team started 11-0. Duke goaltender Mike Adler anchored a superb defensive performance with 17 saves, including 12 in the first half.

"It was nuts," said Adler. "That's probably the one word I would describe it as. But it was so fun. I think everybody had an absolute blast. [UNC] is a great team, but we ended up getting the last shot and Joe Rob, who is everything the program embodies, scored. It was awesome to see him score."

Robertson scored Duke's 11th goal of the game, giving the Blue Devils their first lead of the game with seven seconds remaining in the third quarter and capped his night with the sudden victory winner, the second such goal in his career – the other being the 2018 NCAA quarterfinal win over Notre Dame.

North Carolina goaltender Collin Krieg made a pair of saves to start overtime and extend the game for the Tar Heels. Adler answered with a save of his own and then the Tar Heels were unable to capitalize on a Duke turnover. The Blue Devils backed up a shot from the Tar Heels and cleared with just under two minutes to play. Duke, already having used its timeout on the opening possession of overtime, got into the offense and fired a pair of shots before Sowers put the ball back in Robertson's stick for what proved to be the final play.

With North Carolina's defense spread out, the veteran attackman saw an opening behind his man in front of the North Carolina crease and used a quick step toward the endline to beat the Tar Heel defenseman to the near post. Robertson dove and put a shot over the stick of Krieg for the win.

Krieg posted 14 saves in the setback as the Tar Heels got two goals from four different players.

"[UNC] had a great game plan and they're players are terrific," said head coach John Danowski. "It's an honor to be a part of this. I thought our guys were aggressive and played hard. Both teams played hard for the whole 63 minutes and we just were fortunate enough to make a play there in the end. We easily could have lost as well."

The instant classic featured five ties, but only one lead change, as Duke trailed for much of the contest. The Blue Devils, sporting an 11-10 lead after three quarters thanks to Robertson's goal to end the third stanza, failed to score in the final frame. However, Duke's stalwart defense held North Carolina to just one goal in the final 20:10 to give the Blue
Devils the ball for a final possession with just over a minute left in the fourth period.

After a pass got knocked down in front of the Tar Heel goal, sophomore Dyson Williams scrapped his way to a ground ball and seemingly scored, but Duke had called a timeout before Williams got the shot off.

Coming out of the timeout, Duke turned the ball over, but a fantastic ride from attackmen Robertson and Michael Sowers gave the Blue Devils one final look at the goal. Rookie Brennan O'Neill had the ball in his stick coming from the endline and beat his man and rifled a shot off the crossbar to send the game into overtime and the thrilling finish.

Williams and O'Neill recorded two goals apiece on the night, while Sowers extended his point streak to 57 games with one goal.

The game was close throughout the 60 minutes with the largest lead being an 8-5 North Carolina advantage early in the third quarter. O'Neill responded with two goals in 30 seconds to spark a 6-2 Duke run to finish the third stanza with the 11-10 lead.

The 11 goals scored by North Carolina are the fewest this season and seven below its average. The Blue Devils' defense held Chris Gray, the ACC's leading scorer, to only three points (2g, 1a) on the night and forced the Tar Heels into five turnovers in the fourth quarter.

Nicky Solomon, Justin Anderson and Tanner Cook also added two goals for the Tar Heels. Zac Tucci went 9-of-22 at the faceoff and registered a goal and an assist.

JT Giles-Harris recorded two caused turnovers and picked up four ground balls to lead Duke's defensive effort in front of the cage. At the faceoff X, Jake Naso won 15-of-24 faceoffs and picked up 11 ground balls. Tyler Carpenter scooped six ground balls and captain Terry Lindsay had a crucial caused turnover in the fourth quarter.

Duke won the ground ball battle 38-33 and outshot the Tar Heels 51-46. The Blue Devils fired six shots in overtime.

The Blue Devils hit the road next, traveling to face off against Notre Dame, April 10 at 1 p.m. The game will be televised by ESPNU.

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