Duke Survives First-Round Scare from Delaware

Delaware, just a handful of days after dropping 25 goals on Marist in the NCAA tournament’s play-in game, had top-seeded Duke on the ropes. A No. 1 seed had never fallen in the first round of the tournament since the tournament field expanded in 2003.

Duke was nearly the first.

But the Blue Devils escaped with a 12-11 win, willed largely by the second-half performance of Andrew McAdorey. He scored all three of his goals in the third quarter, a period that Duke opened with four goals. Combined with Dyson Williams’ goal to end the first half, Duke turned an 8-5 deficit into a 9-8 lead.

“We gave up eight goals in first half and Delaware was terrific,” Duke head coach John Danowski said on the ESPN broadcast. “They’re shooting lights out and playing with tremendous confidence. … This game scared me all week. You score 25 goals, you’ve got talent. They’re well-coached. Matt Rewkowski, Ben DeLuca — these guys are fabulous. I wasn’t surprised when it was 8-5 at the half. But it was only 8-5 at the half, and I didn’t feel terrible about that — because it could have been worse.”

Duke’s 9-8 lead was short lived. Tye Kurtz tied it with 6:01 left in the third quarter, then Brendan Powers gave the Blue Hens a 10-9 lead with 12:16 to play.

Duke leaned on three different scorers — Aidan Danenza, Brennan O’Neill and Charlie O’Connor — to build a 12-10 lead that Delaware trimmed to one on Mike Robinson’s toe drag goal with 2:35 left.

Delaware had one final possession after forcing Duke into a shot clock violation, but JP Ward turned the ball over and Duke killed the final 42 seconds. Danowski credited his defense for allowing just “one goal in the box” in the second half. Delaware’s other two scores in the second half were scored off an errant pass and a substation irregularity.

“Every team has a crucible moment,” Danowski said. “That’s where we were at halftime. Throughout the first quarter and the second quarter, I thought guys were really nervous. Maybe it was the pressure of the seeding or the last game at home. I’m not sure what, but they weren’t having fun. It’s still a game, and it’s about having fun. That was the mantra at halftime: ‘Fellas, whatever happens here in the last 30 minutes on the field, let’s have fun.’”