The first goal of the game didn't come until the 6:55 mark, but it was only a matter of time.
Except, it wasn't Duke who scored, despite the Blue Devils dominating the time of possession throughout most of this quarter. The Blue Jays jumped on the board after a quick shot snuck inside the post past goalie Dan Loftus' leg. Duke just hasn't been able to find the net, sailing a few shots wide and one off the crossbar.
Duke knotted it up on another signature transition goal. After a save, Loftus hurled it to a sprinting Michael Ward at midfield. He dished it to Matt Danowski, who then whipped a pass to Zack Greer as he cut across the face of the goal for his 65th tally on the year. It's the 80th time that a Danowski assist led to a Greer goal.
Then the Blue Devils took advantage of a man-up situation to take a 2-1 lead. Greer passed it to Max Quinzani, who was literally camped on the crease at the side of the goal, leading to an easy score. The marker gives Quinzani 60 goals on the season, making this year's Duke squad the first ever to have two players with 60 or more scores.
It's been a low-scoring affair for these two teams so far, but expect things to heat up as the action continues in the second quarter.
--by Matthew Iles
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