On Thursday evening, attackman Brennan O'Neill was rewarded for an exceptional junior season with the prestigious Tewaaraton Award, given annually to the best men's and women's player in college lacrosse.
Conventional sports wisdom states that certain teams always choke in the postseason, certain teams always beat certain other teams, and whatever else has been levied against a team with a vague gesture to history as evidence. Monday afternoon proved exactly why conventional wisdom fails so often in sports.
Despite a late-game rally, the top-seeded Blue Devils were ultimately overwhelmed 13-9 by No. 3-seed Notre Dame, gifting the Fighting Irish their first national championship in program history and extending a nine-year title drought for head coach John Danowski and his Duke team.
Every week, the Blue Zone breaks down an outstanding spring athlete, looking at their weekly performance and their season as a whole. Up next is Jake Naso.
The Blue Devils may have escaped Penn State at the death, but Monday's title game against Notre Dame will require increased discipline and less room for error.
At the end of a frantic game, the top-seeded Blue Devils came out on top 16-15 against the fifth-seeded Nittany Lions, booking their place in Monday's title game.
With the NCAA Final Four set, the Blue Zone looks at four star players that are key to leading their respective teams to victory.
With Duke's Final Four semifinal game against Penn State rapidly approaching, Andrew Long and Sasha Richie break down the Blue Devils' path to the title.
On Thursday, eight Blue Devils were recognized for exceptional seasons with a slew of national awards heading into the weekend's Final Four.
The Tewaaraton Award finalist played his best game of the season when it mattered most, scoring six goals as No. 1-seed Duke picked up a monumental 15-8 victory against Michigan.
No. 1-seed Duke was made to work for it against a resilient Delaware contingent in its opening-round matchup, escaping a tight game 12-11.
Every week, the Blue Zone breaks down an outstanding spring athlete, looking at their weekly performance and their season as a whole. Up next is Brennan O’Neill.
After an impressive regular season, Duke is heading to the NCAA tournament as the No.1 overall seed. The Blue Zone breaks down the Blue Devils’ path to the championship.
It has been a superb year for Duke, and it was justly rewarded Tuesday afternoon with a series of conference awards.
After beating No. 15 Syracuse 18-15 Saturday afternoon, No. 2 Duke clinched at least a share of the ACC title and let the rest of the lacrosse world know that it is out for blood. After Virginia's win against Notre Dame Sunday afternoon, the Blue Devils became outright conference champions.
For the third-straight year, Duke exited the conference tournament at the quarterfinal stage after a 15-9 loss to the Eagles.
After five one-score losses in the regular-season, the Blue Devils finally came out on the right side of a close one at just the right moment.
While the 13-12 defeat at the hands of the Tar Heels is heartbreaking in its own way, this pattern of almosts, maybes and could-have-beens has plagued Duke all season long.
Duke is struggling to win against other ACC teams, and aside from a tight victory against Pittsburgh, it has not yet claimed a win over another conference competitor.
The Blue Devils competed until the close on Senior Night at Koskinen Stadium, nearly stealing a win from their archrival to close out the regular season.
