Michigan men’s lacrosse falls to No. 1 Duke in NCAA quarterfinals

When it comes to Cinderella runs, the bandwagon almost always has to turn back into a pumpkin eventually. For the Michigan Wolverines men’s lacrosse team, the magic ended in the NCAA Quarterfinals, with a 15-8 loss to the top-seeded Duke Blue Devils.

Things started off shaky for the Wolverines, as the Blue Devils jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first five minutes of play. Though Michigan tied things up to end the first quarter, Duke once again had a hot start to a quarter, scoring three unanswered goals in the first five minutes of the second quarter — including a pair of goals in just over 30 seconds of game clock.

While the dictation of play ostensibly favored the Blue Devils, the scoreboard still had the game in striking distance for the Wolverines, and they made even closer after cutting the deficit to 5-3 headed into the final five minutes of the half. Though Duke added a pair of additional goals, Michigan made the final conversion of the half, putting the score at 7-4 headed into the locker room.

Unfortunately, the second half wasn’t nearly as competitive as the first. While the Wolverines went blow for blow on some early chances in the third quarter, the fourth quarter saw the Blue Devils score four unanswered goals to put the game well out of reach. While Michigan added one final goal in the final two minutes, it was hardly a consolation prize, as the final score was 15-8.

The eight goal performance for the Wolverines tied a season-low, while their shot conversion rate of 8-for-21 was also their worst this season.