May 18, 2008

by Tyler Dunne, Special to Lacrosse Magazine Online

ITHACA, N.Y. - Last week, Ohio State traveled the 470 miles to Cornell by bus for its first round game, but Buckeyes head coach Joe Breschi promised his team that if they won, a chartered plane would take them back to Ithaca, N.Y., for the NCAA quarterfinals.

After upsetting Cornell last weekend, Breschi fulfilled his promise and Ohio State changed its means of transportation for Saturday's game against top-seeded Duke. But after getting blitzed, 21-10, Breschi half-jokingly, half-seriously regretted it.

"Maybe we should have drove," he smiled afterward.

Then again, it probably didn't matter.

Duke's offense scored at will, like a glitch in a video game. The same shots, from the same spots, at the same speed...with the same results.

And the Buckeyes had no chance.

In the first 15 minutes, Duke scored nine goals on 18 delirious shots. The early knockout punch was too severe to overcome, as the Blue Devils clicked cruise control and rode it all the way to a date in Foxborough, Mass., and a rematch with Johns Hopkins in the national semifinals. The Blue Jays beat Duke in the NCAA Championship last year, 12-11.

"They jumped out early on us," Ohio State senior Kevin Buchanan said. "Unfortunately, we played catch-up the rest of the game...You look up at the scoreboard and see seven goals or whatnot, and it's disheartening."

The 21 goals scored by Duke are the fourth-highest ever in a NCAA quarterfinal game.

Ohio State's Mario Ventiquattro scored 30 seconds into the game after Duke was penalized for a delay of game. The Buckeyes' bench erupted, and for a second it appeared as if this quarterfinal bout might be tightly contested. But all Ohio State did was poke Goliath with a stick.

The Blue Devils scored 10 unanswered goals, and the Buckeyes slipped into a 17-minute scoring drought. Duke went a perfect 10-for-10 on clears in the first half, turning defense to offense before Ohio State could settle its defense.

Breschi feared Duke's unconscious spurts.

"It happens so quickly," Breschi said. "We called a timeout when it was 4-1. At 5-1 and 6-1, you think about calling another one, but we really never had the ball.

"You almost have to play a close to perfect game...Their pressure was relentless."

Added Duke head coach John Danowski, "That's how we play every week. I'd like to say there was a game plan this week that was different from last week, but there's not."

What a difference a week makes. Against the fourth-best goal-scorer in the nation - Cornell's Ryan Hurley - Ohio State's defense was rock solid. Hurley only had two goals, which both came after the Buckeyes had already built a double-digit goal lead. Behind inspired defensive play, Ohio State upset the eighth-seeded Big Red on the road.

Which led to a date with the devil.

On Sunday, Ohio State faced an entire stable of horses instead of one. The NCAA's all-time leading scorer, Matt Danowski was contained. The head coach's son registered only one goal and two assist, but it was impossible for the Buckeyes to shut down everyone. Senior midfielder Zack Greer scored six goals and dished out five assists. Max Quinzani added five goals, Brad Ross had a hat trick and Ned Crotty finished with four assists.

Duke is 39-0 when Greer - the all-time NCAA goal-leader - records a hat trick. So after Greer logged his third strike at the 10:23 mark of the second quarter, that 100 percent success rate peace-of-mind set in. Duke just did what they always do, and didn't let up.

"We try to create opportunities from the faceoff and create opportunities on the defensive end when people were subbing," the elder Danowski said. "A lot of teams don't do that, but that's how we practice every day."

The blowout got to a point Sunday where Greer attempted a no-look, behind-the-back pass in front of the Ohio State net at the 12:58 mark in the third quarter - gutsy freelancing for a NCAA quarterfinal.

It didn't matter.

The showtime feed failed, but Greer scored one minute later to amp Duke's lead up to 14-4.

It was that kind of day in the (rain-soaked) park for the Blue Devils.

"I don't think you ever anticipate things like that," said Greer on Duke's torrid start. "We just try to come out and play 60 minutes, we try to play the same way every day, every week. The ball went our way this week, we were finishing shots, guys were being unselfish and making the extra passes and it worked out for us."

Next up is the rematch with a team that ended their season in 2007. Still, a vengeance vibe isn't spreading through the Duke locker room. Next week is no different. Duke will look to continue its machine-like execution.

"I don't think we're going to look at it as (revenge)," Greer said. "It's just the next team we have to play. It's about doing our own thing."