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Tuesday, March 19, 2024
The Observer

Notre Dame unable to overcome dominant Duke

It was all blue, all Duke, all afternoon, as No. 7 Notre Dame lost, 15-7, to ACC-rival No. 3 Duke on Saturday at Arlotta Stadium.

The two teams entered the game tied for second in the ACC with identical 2-1 conference records and a share of first place on the line. The Irish (4-4, 2-2 ACC) could not find their rhythm against the Blue Devils (10-2, 3-1), who held the lead the entire game to pass Notre Dame in ACC standings.

“I think we matched up well even though the numbers show differently,” Irish sophomore defender Edwin Glazener said. “They did get a lot of possessions and were patient with the ball, allowing them to score a lot more than we would've liked.

“They were just on.”

Irish freshman midfielder Sergio Perkovic scans the field against Duke on Saturday. Perkovic scored his ninth goal of the season.
Michael Yu
Irish freshman midfielder Sergio Perkovic scans the field against Duke on Saturday. Perkovic scored his ninth goal of the season.
Duke set the tone two minutes into the first quarter with a goal from senior attackman Jordan Wolf. The Irish responded 49 seconds later with a goal from junior midfielder Nick Ossello, who came up from the right lane.

Despite this close start, the Blue Devils quickly tallied four unanswered goals to go ahead, 5-1, by the early part of the second quarter on goals from Wolf and sophomore midfielder Deemer Class.

Wolf and Class continued to lead Duke’s attack throughout the game and tallied four goals and three assists and five goals and two assists, respectively.

Notre Dame ended a scoreless draw of more than 20minutes with a man up-goal from freshman midfielder Sergio Perkovic to make it 5-2, but it was Duke who led at halftime, 6-2.

The start of the second half looked promising for the Irish with a man-up goal from junior attackman Conor Doyle less than a minute into the third quarter, cutting the Duke lead to three at 6-3. The Blue Devils, though, went on to score seven straight times to claim a 10-goal edge by the opening minute of the fourth quarter.

“I think we struggled reacting to what they were doing,” senior defender Stephen O’Hara said. “They had six very good players who made the right plays and shot the ball well throughout the game.

“It was one of those games that we got down early and never really recovered from it.”

Irish senior midfield Tyler Brenneman defends Saturday during Notre Dame’s 15-7 loss to Duke. The defeat dropped the Irish to 2-2 in ACC play.
Irish senior midfield Tyler Brenneman defends Saturday during Notre Dame’s 15-7 loss to Duke. The defeat dropped the Irish to 2-2 in ACC play.
Notre Dame attempted a rally at the onset of the fourth quarter as the Irish deposited three unanswered goals in 1:42 to make it 13-6. Senior midfielder Jim Marlatt initiated the run with the first score, which was followed by a man-down goal from senior attackman John Scioscia and then a goal from junior midfielder Jack Near 15 seconds later.

Duke responded with a pair of goals from sophomore midfielder Myles Jones. Ossello scored his second and the last goal of the day in the last two minutes on a skip pass up the right side from Doyle, bringing the final score to 15-7.

Overall, the Blue Devils outshot Notre Dame, 44-34, but the Irish won the faceoff battle, 15-10, with senior midfielder Liam O’Connor taking every attempt for the Irish. The Blue Devils were 3-of-5 in man-up opportunities and Notre Dame was 2-of-6.

Moving forward, the Irish recognize that a loss like this can provide insight on the remainder of their season, O’Hara said.

“I think it was very humbling as a team to get beat like we did, but at the same time, it was nice to see we never gave up regardless of the score,” O’Hara said. “I believe we'll learn that with the type of teams we play, we can't afford to have a slow start, and we need to piece together a full 60-minute game.”

The Irish take on Marquette on the road Tuesday at 5 p.m. in Milwaukee.