Duke rallies to beat Delaware 12-11

DURHAM Duke SrCharlie O’Connorscored with 4:25 left in the quarter, and the No. 1-ranked Blue Devils held on for 19 in the final minutes. ranked Delaware to earn a 12-11 victory in the opening round of the NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Tournament.
The Blue Devils finish the season undefeated at home 9-0 and improve the overall situation to 14-2. Duke will face Michigan in the quarterfinals on May 20 in Albany, NY Delaware finishes the season at 13-5. Duke led only 10:13 in the match and trailed by four.
Second year studentAndrew McAdoreywho played in his first career NCAA tournament game, had three goals as a seniorDyson Williamshe also had a hat trick. JuniorBrennan O’Neillhad a goal and three assists. Defensively, Duke held the Blue Hens to just three goals in the final 39 minutes and allowed Delaware just nine shots in the second half.
How did it happen

• Delaware, after falling behind in the third quarter, scored back-to-back goals late in the third and early in the fourth to regain a 10-9 advantage. JuniorAidan Danenzascored at 9:27 of the final frame and then O’Neill followed 2:01 later to break the deadlock for good. Danenza scored two goals.
• O’Connor led with a first in the final minutes and a pass from another defensive midfielderAidan Maguireand gave the Blue Devils a two-goal cushion. Delaware came down and scored with 2:35 left to pull away, 12-11, butJake Nasowon the next game and Duke’s defense stopped the huge win. SeniorTyler Carpenterhe had a ground ball to give Duke the ball in the final 30 seconds.
• Delaware jumped all over the Blue Devils in the first quarter to take a 4-1 lead after 9:08. Tye Kurtz scored three of the four goals. He finished the game with a game-high four. The Blue Hens forced Duke into uncharacteristic turnovers early on and shot lights out at the other end with four goals on their first six shots.
• Williams scored the first of his three on the night at 5:01, but Delaware had an answer two minutes later to preserve the three-goal advantage. Graduate studentGarrett Leadmongot on the board with 37 seconds left in the first quarter to pull Duke within two at the first intermission.
• Delaware’s hot shooting continued in the second quarter as the Blue Hens scored twice in the first 2:47 to go ahead, 7-3. After Danenza’s goal made it three again, Delaware’s Cam Acchione stretched it back to four at 9:15.
• The Blue Devils’ defense took over from that point, holding Delaware to a score for the next 18:14 as Duke took the lead. Duke held the Blue Hens to just nine shots in the period while scoring five unanswered to take its first lead of the game, 9-8, with 8:48 left in the third quarter.
• McAdorey and Williams scored all five goals in the run, which included three goals 2:51 apart. The spurt was started by Williams at 5:39 of the second quarter, assisted by O’Neill. McAdorey put the Blue Devils on their backs in the third quarter with a hat trick, including the first two goals of the period that put the Blue Hens on their heels.
• Delaware halted the streak at the 6:01 mark of the third stanza, but scored just twice in the fourth as the Duke defense came up short.
• Naso went 15-of-25 at the plate with eight ground balls. The junior starting specialist was 7/10 in the second half. Carpenter finished the day with five ground balls. Close defense unitKenny Brower, Wilson StephensonandKeith Boyercombined for eight ground balls and three caused turnovers.
• in goal,William Helmmade 11 saves for the Blue Devils. Delaware netminder Matt Kilkeary made 15 saves in the rebound.

Notes

• Duke improves to 41-21 overall and advances to the quarterfinals for the 19th time in 25 NCAA Tournament appearances. The Blue Devils improve to 10-2 overall as the No. 1 seed and are 2-0 against Delaware in the NCAA Tournament. The 12-11 victory is Duke’s 11th by one goal in the NCAA tournament. The Blue Devils are 11-8 in one-goal games.
• The head coachJohn Danowskiimproves to 36-19 in career NCAA postseason play and 32-11 as Blue Devils leader.
• Duke finished the season undefeated 9-0 at Koski Stadium. The Blue Devils have lost four times at home under Danowski (2008, 2012, 2021) and are 141-25 all-time in Durham under his watch.
• The Blue Devils outscored Delaware 3-2 in the fourth quarter, marking just the fifth time in 16 games this season Duke has outscored an opponent in the final frame.
• JuniorBrennan O’Neillmoves into 11th place on the Duke career scoring list with 212. O’Neill brings his season points total to 84 this season, tied for 11th in school history and just two in the top 10. He recorded at least three assists for the eighth time this season and 11th time in his career.
• Three goals tonightDyson Williamshas 145 career goals to rank 11th in Duke history and is five away from becoming the eighth Blue Devil to score 150 in a career. Thanks to the hat trick, his 54 points on the season tied for ninth in program history. He now has 165 career points and is 25th on the Blue Devil career list.
• O’Neill extended his goal streak to 25 games, while Williams moved it to 19 games.
• Jake NasonThe 15 wins give him 737 career wins, which is 24th in NCAA history. He is 13 years shy of becoming just the 21st player in NCAA Division I history to win 750 games. He is 79 shy of Brendan Fowler’s Duke record of 816.
• Wilson Stephensonhas 25 caused turnovers this season for sixth in Duke single-season history. The record is 37, set by Luke Duprey in 2013.

Next

• Duke heads to the University at Albany to face Michigan in the NCAA quarterfinals on May 20 at a time to be determined. The match will be televised on ESPNU, and the winner will advance to Championship Weekend in Philadelphia. Tickets are available for purchase here.

Quotation marks
Unbeaten at home this season

“To go undefeated in Koskis — there’s only been four teams here that have done that. It’s not easy, but we’re very proud of it. This is a special place for the guys who play lacrosse. here.” John Danowski

On Andrew McAdorey

“He works so hard every day. This is the first time I’ve been here that we’ve had to endure [a player] out of practice because his engine just won’t stop. Scoring goals is great, but the way he celebrates is infectious and other guys around him can relax.” John Danowski

On Tyler Carpenter globe to seemingly seal the game
“These are those plays [go unnoticed]. Earlier in the game, there was a play where their offensive lineman got the ball on the wing and had a spot, but Tyler kept a stick guy on his stick as he tried to pick the ball up and took it away from him. Those plays are all invisible plays that we’re talking about that are essential to the team’s success.” John Danowski