Duke Falls to No. 7 Loyola in NCAA First Round

Saturday, May 14

Baltimore, Md.

12:00 PM

Duke University

11-8

Loyola (First Round)

13-3

Duke University

Loyola Maryland

Duke Opens 4-Game Homestand with Georgetown Saturday

Duke Falls to No. 7 Loyola in NCAA First Round

5/14/2016 3:16:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score MLAX vs. Loyola (NCAA): Duke Press Conference MLAX vs. Loyola (NCAA): Bruckner Explodes for Six Goals MLAX vs. Loyola (NCAA): Loyola Press Conference MLAX vs. Loyola (NCAA): Deemer Class's 50th Goal Box Score (PDF)Season Statistics Box Score

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C.—Loyola senior attackman Zach Herreweyers scored six goals and Pat Spencer added eight points to lead the seventh-seeded Greyhounds to a 16-11 victory over Duke in the first round NCAA Men's Lacrosse Tournament action.

Loyola (13-3) jumped out to a 3-0 lead and never let Duke (11-8) get any closer than a goal throughout the 60 minutes. Blue Devil junior attackman Jack Bruckner put forth his best effort with a season-high six goals as the Blue Devils' season comes to an end.

"Congratulations to Coach [Charley] Toomey, players and his staff," said head coach John Danowski. "A really well-played, well-executed first-round game. The Loyola kids did a great job and it's always an honor to compete in the tournament."

Duke, trailing 3-0, pulled within on with a pair of Bruckner goals 36 seconds apart. The Greyhounds, as they would do all afternoon, answered with two more. That trend continued as the Blue Devils pulled within a single goal two more times in the opening half only to have Loyola respond with two unanswered.

After Bruckner threw in his sixth of the day late in the second period to make it an 8-6 game, Herreweyers capitalized on a defensive miscue for the 9-6 halftime advantage.

Deemer Class opened the scoring in the third quarter, netting his 50th goal of the season with an assist from Myles Jones. He is just the sixth midfielder in NCAA history and only the ninth Blue Devil overall to record 50 goals in a season. Jones finished with three assists on the day to complete his career with 231 career points (126g, 105a) to rank seventh in Duke history. He is the lone midfielder in NCAA history to record 100 goals and 100 assists in his career.

Trailing by two, 9-7, Duke could not get any closer as turnovers continued to plague the Blue Devils in the second half. Duke finished the game with 19 turnovers, just over its season average. Zack Sirico put Loyola back up three to spark a 3-0 run for the Greyhounds that gave them their largest lead of the day, 12-7.

Chad Cohan and Tripp Transou finished the third quarter with scores to make it a three-goal game again, but the Blue Devils had no answer for Herreweyers as the senior three in three unanswered himself in the fourth to make it 15-9.

"I think we were a good team, not a great team" Danowski said. "I think the struggle we had as coaches was trying to get the guys to play a certain way. Every team is different. I think that's part of the fun of coaching. The joy of coaching is that one year has nothing to do with the last and you hope you can continue to get better. You're right. This team was consistently inconsistent."

Kyle Rowe was outstanding at the faceoff X for the Blue Devils, winning a career-high 23-of-31 faceoff and picking up a career-best 17 ground balls. In goal, Danny Fowler made 10 saves in 60 minutes of action.

Loyola goalie Jacob Stover had a fantastic day between the pipes, making 16 saves, including four in the fourth quarter.

The Blue Devils finish the season with an 11-8 overall record and qualified for their 20th NCAA Tournament and 10th straight. Loyola advances to play in the NCAA quarterfinal in Columbus, Ohio next Sunday, May 22.

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