Blue Devils scorch men's lax in fifth-straight loss
In a highly anticipated rematch of last year's national championship game, the second-ranked Duke Blue Devils (11-1) defeated the 11th-ranked Blue Jays (3-5) 17-6 to mark an unprecedented fifth consecutive loss for the Blue Jays. This was the first time the Jays have lost five consecutive games since statistics were kept, a period spanning 125 years.
For Hopkins and head coach Dave Pietramala, this game had huge ramifications. The Blue Jays had lost four straight heading into their match with Duke, including three overtime losses and a thrashing last week against North Carolina, the first time that Hopkins has lost four straight in 18 seasons.
This was also the first time Hopkins and Duke have played each other since last year's national championship game, which the Blue Jays won 12-11. But facing a Duke team with a seven game margin in the win column and keeping in mind that Duke has three of the top offensive players in the country in seniors Matt Danowski and Zack Greer and sophomore Max Quinzani, Hopkins was prepared to come out with full intensity.
"We were focused on doing our jobs to play to the best of our ability," sophomore goalie Michael Gvozden said. "The only pressure we put on ourselves is to get out of the slump we're in."
The Blue Jays got on the scoreboard first with an unassisted score by senior Kevin Huntley, but Duke scored three unanswered goals, one each by Danowksi and Quinzani within 10 seconds of each other, and one by junior midfielder Ned Crotty to go up 3-1 by the end of the first quarter.
The Jays started the scoring in the second quarter by taking advantage of being two men up when senior co-captain Michael Doneger took a pass from Huntley and put one past Duke goalkeeper Dan Loftus to cut the deficit to one. Duke scored two minutes later, but Hopkins evened up the score at four on a pair of goals, the first by junior Austin Walker and the second on a man-up possession by senior midfield Paul Rabil.
For Hopkins and head coach Dave Pietramala, this game had huge ramifications. The Blue Jays had lost four straight heading into their match with Duke, including three overtime losses and a thrashing last week against North Carolina, the first time that Hopkins has lost four straight in 18 seasons.
This was also the first time Hopkins and Duke have played each other since last year's national championship game, which the Blue Jays won 12-11. But facing a Duke team with a seven game margin in the win column and keeping in mind that Duke has three of the top offensive players in the country in seniors Matt Danowski and Zack Greer and sophomore Max Quinzani, Hopkins was prepared to come out with full intensity.
"We were focused on doing our jobs to play to the best of our ability," sophomore goalie Michael Gvozden said. "The only pressure we put on ourselves is to get out of the slump we're in."
The Blue Jays got on the scoreboard first with an unassisted score by senior Kevin Huntley, but Duke scored three unanswered goals, one each by Danowksi and Quinzani within 10 seconds of each other, and one by junior midfielder Ned Crotty to go up 3-1 by the end of the first quarter.
The Jays started the scoring in the second quarter by taking advantage of being two men up when senior co-captain Michael Doneger took a pass from Huntley and put one past Duke goalkeeper Dan Loftus to cut the deficit to one. Duke scored two minutes later, but Hopkins evened up the score at four on a pair of goals, the first by junior Austin Walker and the second on a man-up possession by senior midfield Paul Rabil.
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