As an unseeded team who lost to Duke in the ACC semifinals, Maryland was determined to prove itself.
The Terrapins did just that, pummeling the third-seeded Blue Devils 16-10 in the NCAA semifinals Saturday at Gillette Stadium on Foxborough, Mass. This marks the second consecutive year Duke has lost to Maryland in the semifinals of the NCAA tournament.
“They were better than us today,” Duke senior CJ Costabile said. “They played all parts of the game offensively. Defensively we couldn’t stop them. There was no backside help.”
After trailing the entire game, the Blue Devils (15-5) narrowed the margin to 10-8 with 13:44 left in regulation, but could not keep it close, allowing six goals in the final period of play. The Terrapins (12-6) scored on 16-of-29 shot attempts, making it difficult for the Blue Devils to stay in the game.
Duke, by contrast, only capitalized on 10-of-32 of shot attempts. Maryland senior Drew Snider led all players with four goals.
“The Maryland kids were sharp,” Duke head coach John Danowski said. “They shot very well and put the ball on each other’s sticks. I thought they were much more confident than we were.”
After surrendering three unanswered goals to the Terrapins in the first 12:48 of play, Duke sophomore Josh Dionne finally put the Blue Devils on the scoreboard with a goal assisted by sophomore Jordan Wolf. Senior Robert Rotanz then added an unassisted tally to bring them within one.
In the second quarter, however, Duke struggled to stay close as Maryland efficiently netted four of its five shot attempts. It began when Terrapin sophomore Mike Chanenchuk fired a low shot past junior goaltender Dan Wigrizer on a man-up opportunity 32 seconds into the period. Costabile answered with a goal off the ensuing faceoff, but goals from junior Kevin Cooper and Owen Blye extended Maryland’s lead to three with 10:28 left in the half.
A Duke timeout at the 3:36 mark helped the Blue Devils regroup, with sophomore Christian Walsh scoring 23 seconds later. The first of Snider’s goals, however, coming with 13.4 seconds remaining in the half, sent Maryland to the locker room with a commanding 7-4 advantage.
“We were finding each other on good spots on the field,” Snider said. “We all felt really comfortable with our offensive game plan. I thought we were very organized.”
Snider kicked off second-half scoring 5:54 into the third quarter, then notched his third tally less than two minutes later to give the Terrapins a 9-4 lead. Duke senior Justin Turri and junior Josh Offit responded with two goals to cut Maryland’s advantage to three, and the two teams traded goals to finish the frame to keep that margin steady.
After Rotanz scored 1:14 into the fourth quarter to bring Duke within two, the smallest margin since the second period, Maryland rattled off six consecutive goals to take a 16-8 lead and put the game firmly out of reach. The Blue Devils scored two late goals in the final minute and a half of regulation, but it was too little too late, as the Terrapins had already punched their ticket to the championship game.
“I just wanted to remind these guys, we know we’re talented, but we’re an unseeded team, and we definitely want to play with a chip on our shoulder,” Maryland goaltender Niko Amato said.
After toppling second-seeded Johns Hopkins in the quarterfinals and then Duke, Maryland could not overcome first-seeded Loyola (MD) in the championship game, losing 9-3.
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