Spring Break
The Daily OrangeMLAX | Hopkins shocks No. 1 Duke to set up date with Syracuse
By John Clayton
Posted: 5/24/08, 7:58 PM EST Section: Sports
Gvozden's 17 saves played a huge role in limiting a Duke offense rife with weapons. The Blue Devils' top attack line of Matt Danowski, Zack Greer and Max Quinzani came into the contest with a combined 162 goals on the season.
The trio managed five Saturday, but with the Duke midfield unable to get out in transition, the potency of the attack was blunted. Hopkins was able to scoop up enough groundballs (38 compared to Duke's 24) and win enough faceoffs (13 of 22), to keep the ball in Duke's end.
And there, Kevin Huntley's four goals paced a Jays offense that wasn't afraid to take its time.
"We know how potent their offense is," Hopkins sophomore attack Steven Boyle said. "…And we just said on the offensive end we want to have good possession and take care of the ball because we knew they were going to pressure us in the attack."
That offense scored a few goals early on too - enough to stake the Blue Jays to a 5-2 halftime lead and send a few shivers down the spines of the Blue Devils. Duke's two tallies represented its lowest first-half output of the season.
"I felt as if we were playing us almost," Quinzani, who scored twice, said. "I don't know how many goals we got in 6-on-6 but it seemed as if broken plays, in transition is what I'm used to seeing everyday."
Not that Duke was kept quiet the whole time. Trailing 5-2 in the third quarter, the Blue Devils scored three goals in a span of 45 seconds. In the fourth, they tallied pair of goals six seconds apart. The second of the two, a close-range strike by long-stick defender Nick O'Hara, knotted the contest at eight.
"When they tied it, and then they tied it again, I wasn't feeling too good," Pietramala said.
But, as it did all game, Hopkins kept its composure. Twenty-eight seconds later, Steven Boyle rifled a right-handed shot by Duke goalie Dan Loftus to give the Jays the lead for good.
Duke mounted one final push, scoring with 28 seconds left, but Hopkins bled off enough clock to secure the win and a date with the Orange in the national championship game.
"I'm kind of humbled at what our guys were able to do today," Pietramala said. "We overcame a lot of odds, and that's a great Duke team."
jsclayto@syr.edu
The trio managed five Saturday, but with the Duke midfield unable to get out in transition, the potency of the attack was blunted. Hopkins was able to scoop up enough groundballs (38 compared to Duke's 24) and win enough faceoffs (13 of 22), to keep the ball in Duke's end.
And there, Kevin Huntley's four goals paced a Jays offense that wasn't afraid to take its time.
"We know how potent their offense is," Hopkins sophomore attack Steven Boyle said. "…And we just said on the offensive end we want to have good possession and take care of the ball because we knew they were going to pressure us in the attack."
That offense scored a few goals early on too - enough to stake the Blue Jays to a 5-2 halftime lead and send a few shivers down the spines of the Blue Devils. Duke's two tallies represented its lowest first-half output of the season.
"I felt as if we were playing us almost," Quinzani, who scored twice, said. "I don't know how many goals we got in 6-on-6 but it seemed as if broken plays, in transition is what I'm used to seeing everyday."
Not that Duke was kept quiet the whole time. Trailing 5-2 in the third quarter, the Blue Devils scored three goals in a span of 45 seconds. In the fourth, they tallied pair of goals six seconds apart. The second of the two, a close-range strike by long-stick defender Nick O'Hara, knotted the contest at eight.
"When they tied it, and then they tied it again, I wasn't feeling too good," Pietramala said.
But, as it did all game, Hopkins kept its composure. Twenty-eight seconds later, Steven Boyle rifled a right-handed shot by Duke goalie Dan Loftus to give the Jays the lead for good.
Duke mounted one final push, scoring with 28 seconds left, but Hopkins bled off enough clock to secure the win and a date with the Orange in the national championship game.
"I'm kind of humbled at what our guys were able to do today," Pietramala said. "We overcame a lot of odds, and that's a great Duke team."
jsclayto@syr.edu
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