CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - When Duke head coach John Danowski called a timeout in the closing minutes of Sunday's ACC title game against Virginia, he wanted to calm his players' nerves.
After all, top-seeded Duke had just watched its commanding 11-3 lead disintegrate into a slim two-goal advantage.
"Relax," Danowski said as his players huddled around him. "Get back to the basics, get back to fundamentals, get back to thinking that it's practice. You got to go out and play right."
Like they have all year, the Blue Devils successfully executed their coach's instructions. Following a critical faceoff win by sophomore Sam Payton out of the timeout, Duke controlled the ball behind third-seeded Virginia's cage and milked away the time standing between them and a repeat ACC tournament title to capture the crown 11-9.
Although the Blue Devils (15-1) reveled in the victory after the final whistle, they were also grateful to escape with their first tight win of the season.
"It humbled us a little bit," said goalie Dan Loftus, who took home tournament Most Valuable Player honors. "In the sense that we've been winning in bunches, and we had a team come storm back at the end. It's just taught us we have to hunker down better."
The Blue Devils controlled most of the first three quarters of the game by responding with an 11-2 run after the Cavaliers (13-2) scored first less than three minutes in.
But with the loud home crowd at its back, Virginia finally got on a roll in the closing period, as All-ACC attackman Ben Rubeor spurred the charge. Rubeor scored three times and set up another during Virginia's 6-0 run to close the game that nearly propelled the Cavaliers to an improbable comeback.
The dramatic finish peaked with 1:42 remaining when former Blue Devil Peter Lamade fed Brian Carroll, who fired a shot past Loftus to cut the deficit to three. Then the Cavaliers won the ensuing faceoff-their only successful draw of the quarter-and raced the ball up the field before finding Rubeor for Virginia's second goal in 10 seconds.
"They outshot us, they outgroundballed us, and I think they outplayed us," Danowski said. "I just think we had a big enough lead that they just couldn't come back because there wasn't enough time. But if the game was 65, or maybe 66, minutes, certainly Virginia may have won."
After building a 7-3 lead at intermission, Duke showcased its dangerous offensive attack with a 4-0 run to begin the half. Virginia committed a series of undisciplined penalties in the third quarter, and Duke capitalized.
The Blue Devils went 3-for-3 on their extra-man opportunities in the period, and the celebrated duo of Matt Danowski and Zack Greer, who had been held largely in check in the first half, combined for four goals to stretch the Duke lead to 11-3.
Until then, Virginia had shut down the Duke transition game and neutralized Danowski and Greer with its unique defensive system. Unlike most teams, the Cavaliers did not slide to double team a driving midfielder, limiting open chances for the star attackmen.
Fortunately, the Duke midfield picked up the scoring, contributing five of the seven first-half goals. Ned Crotty took advantage of the extra space twice, driving his man around the cage and firing quick shots past goalkeeper Bud Petit.
The total team effort was an encouraging sign for John Danowski, despite the Virginia comeback.
"We haven't been in close games and today you saw it for the first time," he said. "If we don't figure that out in a hurry, we could be an early exit in the tournament."
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