For the fourth game in a row, Marquette men’s lacrosse outshot their opponent. But poor shooting and sloppy offensive zone passing made the statistical win meaningless as the Golden Eagles lost their third game in a row, falling 11-7 to No. 4 Duke Saturday afternoon.
It was the closest meeting between the two programs who have met every season in Marquette’s short history. The Golden Eagles have never defeated the Blue Devils.
“I think our seniors, they settled at the end there towards the middle of the third quarter: they settled that is was going to be a good game and that was enough for them and that’s frustrating,” head coach Joe Amplo said. “It’s no longer good enough for our program to be the program that plays hard, we got to execute if we want to win games like this.”
After playing a disciplined game in the first half, Marquette’s offense came out hot at the beginning of the third quarter. The Golden Eagles put together a three-goal run in a five-minute span to take the lead 6-5 for just the second time in the game (Marquette scored the opening goal).
Even though Marquette continued to dominate possession, Duke’s deadly transition offense registered three goals in just under three minutes in the middle of the third quarter. From there, the Blue Devils controlled the game, holding Marquette to just one fourth-quarter goal.
“I thought we shot terrible, I think their goalie played well,” Amplo said. “It’s just frustrating that I don’t think we gave them our complete best effort today.”
Although Marquette held possession of the ball for a majority of the game, they lacked the crucial details on the offensive end. Overall, the Golden Eagles tallied 33 shots to Duke’s 29. Both teams totaled 13 turnovers and 24 ground ball pickups, while the Blue Devils had the edge in face-off X.
“I think we need to be more locked in mentally because physically, we are going to try our hardest, but mentally, that’s where it all comes from,” senior defenseman Nick Eufrasio said.
The mental lapses showed on the offensive end of the field for Marquette. Their shooting percentage totaled just 21 percent and they failed to take advantage of numerous point-blank scoring chances due to poor shot location. A minute-long man advantage with zero shots and numerous dropped passes late in the third quarter was evidence of this struggle. Senior attackman Joe Dunn was the only Golden Eagle to register twice on the score sheet.
“I’m really disappointed in the outcome of this game,” Amplo said. “I don’t want to just be out here against ranked opponents.”
The loss drops Marquette to 6-6 overall with just one game to go. The Golden Eagles will welcome Denver University to Valley Fields next Saturday at 3:30 p.m. as they try to avoid finishing below .500 for the first time since 2014.
