No. 7 Maryland advances to Final Four with comeback win over No. 2 Duke

With a one goal lead in the final three minutes, Daniel Maltz fired a shot off Duke goalie Patrick Jameison. The ball then tapped the top post and bounced onto the goal line.

Maryland’s bench rushed the field but the celebration was halted. The official called no goal, with a review underway. The flock of black Terps’ jerseys anxiously waited for the call, and reignited the celebration as the official overturned it and ruled it a goal. 

Jack Koras added an empty net goal to seal No. 7 Maryland’s 14-11 win over No. 2 Duke (13-5, 1-3 ACC) on Saturday. The Terps advance to their third NCAA semifinal in four years.

This moment seemed unlikely at the beginning of the quarter when the Terps (10-5, 3-2 Big Ten) trailed by two. The offense exploded in the fourth quarter, scoring seven goals. 

Braden Erksa fielded a groundball in front of the net and scored to give the Terps their first lead of the game five minutes into the quarter. The goal also capped off a four goal run.

Maryland faced the deficit after committing 18 turnovers. Despite this, Luke Wierman earned Maryland possessions, winning 20-of-29 faceoffs. The senior also provided a spark offensively, scoring two goals off the faceoff.

Duke’s offense took advantage of early opportunities to jump to a four-goal lead. Maryland committed six first-quarter turnovers, leading to five Blue Devil goals. Brennan O’Neill and Dyson Williams secured two of the goals in the span. 

O’Neill and Williams each rank among the top five in the NCAA in total goals and continued that dominance. The duo combined for nine of Duke’s 11 goals with Williams scoring six.

The Blue Devils kept goalie Logan McNaney busy early after taking ten shots on goal in the first quarter. McNaney finished the quarter allowing five goals with just as many saves. The senior continued the .500 clip, finishing the game with 11 saves and 11 goal allowed.

A few minutes into the third quarter, Wierman picked up his fourth groundball of the day and 452nd of his career, breaking Maryland’s program record.

The Maryland defense held Duke scoreless for the opening 13 minutes of the half. The Blue Devils scored once in the quarter and committed two shot clock violations. However, Duke still entered the final quarter with a two goal lead.

With the win, Maryland advances to play the winner of Virginia vs. Johns Hopkins. The Terps will travel to Philadelphia next Saturday.