PHILADELPHIA—After a slow first half, Duke looked like a different team coming out of the locker room to start the third quarter. The Blue Devils capped an 12-1 run by scoring on seven of eight shots to open the third period and took a commanding 14-6 lead.
But Duke would have to hold off a comeback attempt by Cornell to advance to its first national championship game since 2010.
Tewaaraton Trophy finalist Rob Pannell took over for the Big Red, scoring three of his five goals in a 6-0 Cornell run, forcing the Blue Devils to clamp down late on the defensive end.
A career-high 16 saves from sophomore goaltender Kyle Turri helped seal a 16-14 victory for Duke (15-5), sending the Blue Devils to Monday’s championship game at Lincoln Financial Field
“Early on it took me awhile to get settled in, but I felt like I was seeing the ball well today,” Turri said. “They were giving a lot of low angle shots, our defense was on them early and I was pretty happy about my saves.”
Cornell (14-4) cut Duke’s lead to 15-14 with 52.9 seconds to play in the game when Connor Buzcek scored his third goal of the afternoon, but a key faceoff victory by junior Brendan Fowler gave the Blue Devils possession.
“I just tried to go out there and treat it like any other faceoff and not to freak out,” Fowler said. “I wanted to treat it [normally], but then Dave Lawson got me pumped up. He gave me a look and yelled at me so I got excited for that.”
After calling timeout, rather than attempting to run out the clock, junior Jordan Wolf went straight to the cage and notched his fourth goal of the game with 38.8 seconds remaining to put the game away.
Duke started the game with a slow first half. Pannell opened the scoring for the Big Red, and Cornell took a 5-2 lead with 10:17 remaining in the second quarter.
But the Blue Devils surged back, scoring five of the game’s next six goals to take a 7-6 advantage into the locker room. Cornell led in shots and faceoff wins, while the Blue Devils had committed four penalties and seven turnovers.
“The mantra we’ve been using all year is just keep playing the right way regardless of your opponent or score,” Duke head coach John Danowski said. “We had to keep chasing ground balls, keep getting possessions but the main thing we were saying [at the half] is just keep playing.”
The Blue Devils came out sizzling in the third quarter. Junior attack Christian Walsh initiated the Blue Devils’ offensive onslaught, beating Cornell senior goaltender A.J. Fiore 3:31 into the third period. Duke scored on 3-of-4 man-up opportunities during the frame, with goals by Dave Lawson and Greg DeLuca.
Fowler also turned around his first half struggles. After going only 7-for-15 in the first half, the first-team All-American went 6-for-9 at the X in the third quarter, allowing the Blue Devils to control possession during their scoring run. By winning 16-of-31 draws on the afternoon, Fowler set the NCAA’s single-season record for faceoff victories in a season.
Jake Tripucka added two of his three goals during the third period. Christian Walsh and Case Matheis also found the back of the net for the Blue Devils.
Pannell scored for the Big Red with 2:09 left in the third quarter to stop his team’s 15:09 scoreless drought. Although the Blue Devils still led 14-7, Pannell’s goal was the beginning of Cornell’s fourth-quarter offensive domination.
The senior broke Duke assistant coach Matt Danowski’s NCAA record for career points when he scored with 8:04 remaining to cap off a 6-0 Cornell run and cut the Blue Devils’ lead to 14-12.
“I’m proud of how we battled back in the fourth quarter,” Pannell said. “That’s what Cornell lacrosse is all about. Playing to the final whistle and never giving up--we did a great job of that.”
Lawson notched his second goal of the contest to push Duke’s lead back to three, but back-to-back scores by Max Van Bourgondien and Buzcek cut the Big Red’s deficit to 15-14 before Wolf’s goal sealed the victory for the Blue Devils.
Duke advances to the national championship game for the third time in program history. The Blue Devils will take on the winner of the second national semifinal between top-seeded Syracuse and No. 4 seed Denver Monday at 1 p.m.
“For us it was a team victory,” Danowski said. “That’s been our goal all year--it’s a total team concept. Playing with a 14-7 lead is not easy.... Our guys withstood the hits and made some plays at the end. We’re grateful we can spend another two days together, which is really what this team is all about.”
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