Duke's Shooting Woes Return in NCAA Semifinal Defeat

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Whatever Duke might regret from its 14-7 loss to Princeton in Saturday’s NCAA semifinals, it won’t be a lack of chances.

The Blue Devils got off 47 shots. They held a 14-10 faceoff advantage. They had half as many turnovers as the Tigers, held a slight ground ball edge and didn’t give up a man-down goal.

But much like what happened during a slide in the second half of the regular season, they simply struggled to make shots.

Princeton goalie Ryan Croddick’s 20 saves were a major factor, just not the only one. Duke (11-5) sprayed it around the cage at a 14.9-percent clip as their season ended a game shy of Memorial Day.

“He’s a terrific goalie,” attackman Benn Johnston said. “A couple of the shots early in the first quarter, if we drop those, he wouldn’t have been as hot throughout the game. We hit a couple pipes. One went off his head and hit a pipe. It’s tough. It’s a game of inches sometimes. I wish I could get some of those shots back, for sure, but you can’t do that at the end of the day.”

For all of Duke’s early shooting problems, it still had chances. It was generating good looks while running past defenders, and it was still tied with the Tigers (16-2) deep into the second quarter.

But then Princeton’s Tucker Wade scored twice in the final 70 seconds before halftime, the highlight of his 2-for-12 day, to make it 6-4. The Tigers got the first goal of the second half, and Duke never again got closer than two.

Johnston scored three times, while Michael Ortlieb had a goal and an assist. Duke’s only goals from midfielders came from faceoff man Cal Girard and long pole Mac Christmas.

“In these games, you have to make plays,” coach John Danowski said. “Structurally you say to yourself, ‘Faceoff game, we didn’t give up a goal and we scored a goal in the faceoff game. We scored a goal in transition.’ But our offensive midfielders went 0-for-23 shooting. You’re not going to win a lot of lacrosse games when that happens.”

A trickle-down effect of Duke’s shooting malaise was giving Princeton a substantial time of possession advantage. That was particularly true in the second half, when the Tigers were content the milk the clock as they began to put the ball out of reach.

It was a significant bit of pressure to place the Blue Devils’ defense, but the greater problem was likely the surgical ability for Princeton to move the ball and find openings deep into the shot clock.  

“We had possessions and over the course of a 60-minute game, you’ll play a lot of defense, especially against a team like that,” defenseman Charlie Johnson said. “But I don’t think it was a product of that. Princeton played incredibly today and they shot the ball and moved the ball really, really well. It’s a testament to them.”

The offensive struggles were an echo of a five-game stretch that began in mid-March that saw Duke shoot a meager 19.1 percent while going 1-4. The slide endangered the Blue Devils’ postseason hopes, but a fair bit of belief and an upset of North Carolina to close the regular season helped salvage their tournament chances.

They went on to win at fourth-seeded Richmond in the first round, then blasted Georgetown 16-6 in the quarterfinals to get back to championship weekend for the first time since 2023.

That remarkable month will likely be the thing most remembered about this Duke team, both externally and internally.

“It’s not always going to go your way, like today,” Danowski said. “It’s just a great life lesson. You just keep working at it. Some day when these guys are dads, they’re talking to their sons and they’re going to say, ‘Hey, when I was an athlete, this is what I learned.’ You don’t ever give up, you keep working and good things are going to happen.”