On Saturday, No. 1 Virginia was supposed to provide Duke with its toughest challenge of the year.
The previously undefeated Cavaliers had the second-best offense in the country with just more than 13 goals a game, whereas the Blue Devils had not played a game since March 28, when they defeated Dartmouth 12-6.
By the time the game had ended at Koskinen Stadium, it was the Cavaliers who left looking like the decided underdogs who had not played in nearly two weeks.
The No. 8 Blue Devils used two critical scoring runs starting late in the opening period to stun the Cavaliers 15-10, a score that undermines just how dominant Duke (9-3, 2-1 in the ACC) was over Virginia (12-1, 2-1).
With their fifth straight victory over the Cavaliers, the Blue Devils secured at least a share of the regular season ACC title for the fourth time in five years. Maryland and Virginia also finished 2-1 in the league, giving Duke the No. 3 seed in the ACC tournament.
"As a team, it definitely was 100 percent our most complete game," said attackman Justin Turri, who finished with three goals and two assists. "Through the defense, we gained confidence on offense, and this was our best game shooting by far. I think everything came together for us today."
The offense usually came together right in front of the net, as Duke effectively used behind-the-goal picks to free attackmen in front of the net. The play produced several one-on-one opportunities for the Blue Devils, who had an advantage shooting that close.
Head coach John Danowski credited the efficient shooting to a renewed focus in practice on accurate shooting. Virginia outshot Duke 43-28, but the Blue Devils converted more than half of their shots into goals.
"We got up at 6:30 a.m. every morning to do some extra shooting," Danowski said. "The evolution of a team, especially on offense, takes time. You have to play games, you have to play together and guys have to see themselves on tape."
The first game-changing run started with 3:21 and the score knotted at two. Although Duke came out visibly more excited-the sideline hollered and yelled at nearly every play, whereas Virginia hardly uttered a word-neither team had established much of anything early in the contest.
Senior attackman Ned Crotty, who tallied a career-high eight points with six assists, scored the first of his two goals when he shook a defender and launched a shot from the left side that bounced past goalie Adam Ghitelman.
Just seconds into the next period, it was Crotty at it again, scoring directly in front of the net to give the Blue Devils a two-goal advantage.
Duke eventually took a three-goal lead into halftime, but it was just getting started.
In the span of exactly 90 seconds, Turri scored from the right side. Then, Brad Ross and Will McKee scored via assists from Crotty, both off backdoor picks that Crotty said were perfect for scoring.
"The feeds weren't really amazing," Crotty said. "It was just guys getting to open spots and catching and shooting it, which is pretty fundamental lacrosse."
Virginia would make things interesting moments later when it scored two goals just 15 seconds apart to bring the margin back to four, but by the time 10 minutes remained in the contest, the Blue Devils had rebuilt the lead to a game-high eight goals, good enough to withstand four Cavalier scores in the last seven minutes.
Max Quinzani paced Duke with four goals on the day, while Crotty's eight points were a game-best by three, debunking any ideas that the long layoff would negatively affect Duke.
"With Virginia coming in as the No. 1 team, it gave us a center of focus," Danowski said. "Our guys are finally starting to get it."
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