Men's lacrosse's late comeback stops short of overtime in 9-8 loss

DURHAM, N.C. – When goalkeeper Niko Amato turned away a shot with less than two minutes left on the clock Saturday, it seemed inevitable that the Terrapin men's lacrosse team would lock up a third straight victory and keep its perfect record unblemished.

With a one-goal lead over Duke, the No. 3 Terps followed Amato's late save with a smooth clear into Duke's end. Funneled toward the Duke goal, midfielder Owen Blye opted for a potential game-clinching shot from the top of the crease rather than peeling off and killing the clock.

But Duke goalkeeper Dan Wigrizer turned the shot away, giving the Blue Devils the final possession of regulation. From there, veteran attackman Zach Howell took over and bullied his way to the top of Amato's crease, where he beat the Terp goalie with three seconds left to tie the game at 8-8 and force overtime.

No. 19 Duke won the faceoff to open overtime, and attackman Jordan Wolf's third goal of the game just 61 seconds into the extra frame gave the defending national champions the 9-8 win.

"We really don't want to shoot the ball in that situation — we want to possess it," coach John Tillman said of the sequence late in regulation. "I think our guys felt like they were forced to go to goal, and some instincts take over. We knew it would be a tough game ... you know it's going to be a dogfight."

The Terps and Blue Devils had entered their ACC opener on decidedly different trajectories. The Terps were flying high after a 20-8 drubbing of regional rival Georgetown on Feb. 26, while Duke was coming off two anemic performances in losses to Notre Dame and Penn.

When the Terps (2-1, 0-1 ACC) opened the game with two goals in the first 4:29 of action, it seemed the game was going according to plan.

But the Blue Devils clawed back and went into halftime with a 5-4 lead thanks to midfielder Jake Tribucka's blast past Amato with three seconds left in the second quarter.

Duke carried that momentum into the third quarter, where they held the Terps scoreless with aggressive defense, particularly in transition.

"They did a really good job getting back and making sure we didn't get transition," Tillman said. "We got a little impatient [offensively]; we got away from what we do."

The Terps found their rhythm in the fourth quarter, stringing together four consecutive tallies — the final two by midfielder John Haus — to complete the comeback and retake the lead against Duke (2-2, 1-0).

"We knew at some point our offense was going to get it going," said Amato, who finished with 19 saves. "I think our team did a good job keeping a level head."

But in a game in which the Terps were largely outworked by the Blue Devils — evidenced by a 33-21 Duke ground-ball advantage — they were unable to close the game out. The Terps' veteran backline had seemed up to the challenge on Duke's final possession in regulation, but, as had happened at the end of the first half, came up just seconds short.

"That's something we talk about all the time. We took a timeout late to make sure we were organized," Tillman said. "We were very close to getting out of there. Niko Amato was terrific. Unfortunately, some crazy things happened."

It was the second consecutive season the ACC rivals went to overtime. Last year, the Terps won, 11-10, at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

While this year's results weren't nearly as favorable, especially considering Duke's early-season struggles, Tillman said this game presents the team a valuable learning experience.

It also helps that the Terps get right back to work today, when they host Bellarmine.

"We feel like every game's going to be tough. It's a league game; we know each other," Tillman said. "We've got to lick our wounds a little bit. The best thing that could happen to us is to play on Monday."

cwalsh@umdbk.com