Duke falls again to non-conference opponent

Playing at a neutral site for the second week in a row, Duke came away with a similar unfavorable result as the team fell to Denver in Bethpage, N.Y. Saturday, 12-9.

In a game filled with lead changes, No. 4 Duke (8-4) failed to capitalize on its shot and faceoff advantage. Despite putting eight more shots on cage, the Blue Devils could not keep pace with the No. 10 Pioneers’ (8-2) ability to find the back of the net—especially late in the match.

Opening the first quarter, Duke notched a quick score on the stick of senior and New York native Terrence Molinari. Later in the quarter, after the Pioneers tied the score at one apiece, the Blue Devils went on a two-goal streak to take their biggest lead of the day at 3-1. But the two-goal advantage would be short lived, as a mere eight seconds later Denver answered to end the period at 3-2.

In the second quarter, Pioneers’ sophomore midfielder Eric Law quickly stifled any of Duke’s remaining momentum. Scoring back-to-back goals, Law gave Denver its first lead of the match. Although the Blue Devils recovered with back-to-back goals of their own courtesy of junior Robert Rotanz, both teams went into halftime tied at five.

While the momentum may not have been squarely against Duke going into the third period, Pioneers’ senior Todd Baxter made sure to change that. Picking up where Law left off, Baxter netted three goals during a seven-minute stretch to open the third quarter. Denver would never relent the lead, finishing the third quarter up 10-8.

In the fourth, the strong defense of the Pioneers began to clamp down on the Blue Devil attack. Despite a quarter in which Duke won the faceoff, shot and groundball battles, Denver goalkeeper Jamie Faus made an impressive seven saves to keep the Blue Devil charge at bay. And while Duke had more shots on goal in the fourth than any of the previous quarters, it had the least to show for it, with just one score in the frame.

Looking back on the match, the Blue Devils failed in many respects to capitalize on their key advantages. They won the turnover battle 15-10 and narrowly edged out more faceoffs, 13-12. They won they shots battle 42-34 and even had a higher percentage of clears at 15 of 16 to a mere 16 of 21 for Denver.

Yet the difference on the day down came to finishing. Although the Pioneers played a great game in many respects, the Blue Devils couldn’t take advantage of several opportunities to put more points on the board.