It wasn’t always pretty, but the Blue Devils made key adjustments to guide themselves to victory in their 13-11 triumph over ACC foe Virginia.
They were quick out of the gate, scoring six of their goals in the first period despite the Cavaliers notching the first of the contest. Although they finished the quarter with a comfortable three-goal lead, the game was far from over at that point.
Virginia adapted to Duke’s early offensive barrage by switching into a zone for the second quarter. The changed defensive scheme initially baffled the Blue Devils, who failed to generate any sort of offensive mojo for the period.
An ill-conceived turnover with fewer than two minutes remaining in the period didn’t help matters—when Duke should have held out for the quarter’s final shot, Virginia was able to convert the mistake into a counter-attack goal.
“We rushed a few things in the second quarter and they capitalized and scored in transition,” junior midfielder Robert Rotanz said. “They had the ball a lot, and we had to play a lot of defense.”
Coming out of halftime, the Blue Devils adjusted to Virginia’s change in tactics. Rotanz led a run of goals in the third period, giving Duke a comfortable lead that it would never forfeit.
Another key improvement throughout the game was between the pipes with goalkeeper Dan Wigrizer. The sophomore only had three saves in the first half but came out and blocked eight in the third and fourth periods. He did it in style, too, snatching several shots by using acrobatic moves which stymied strong Cavalier opportunities.
“I don’t think that Danny made a save for probably about the first three goals, so you’re a little concerned,” head coach John Danowski said. “But I thought he got better as the game went on. I thought he was really good inside—when the ball was inside—and really made some plays.”
In the fourth quarter, the Cavaliers scored three unanswered goals in a five minute span to narrow Duke’s lead to two with under two minutes to play. They then had another excellent opportunity with 1:15 to play to turn it into a one-goal game, but Wigrizer made an impressive save to put the game in the books.
With the victory, the Blue Devils clinched the regular-season conference title and face Virginia again Friday. To come out victorious in the rematch, continuing to adjust and improve throughout games will be critical. Duke showed Saturday that it does have that ability to change on the fly.
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