Colin Briggs scored a career-high four goals, but it wasn’t enough as the No. 7 Virginia Cavaliers (8-4, 1-2 ACC) fell to the No. 10 Duke Blue Devils (10-4, 3-0 ACC) on Saturday, 13-11, inside Koskinen Stadium. The hat trick for Briggs was his second straight.
Shamel Bratton etched his name in UVa history with two points (1 goal, 1 assist), tying former teammate Brian Carroll for No. 1 all-time among UVa midfielders with 128 career points.
Briggs started things quickly for UVa when he scored in transition off a Chris Clements pass 1:30 into the game, giving the Cavaliers the 1-0 lead to start things off.
Duke answered with three straight goals to take a 3-1 lead. David Lawson started things off with an unassisted score and then Zach Howell scored back-to-back goals to cap the run.
Chris LaPierre picked up a ground ball off the ensuing faceoff after Howell’s second goal and split the defense to score in an unsettled possession, cutting UVa’s deficit to one goal, 3-2.
Duke ended the first quarter on a 3-1 spurt, taking a 6-3 lead into the second quarter. Jordan Wolf started things off for Duke with a goal with 6:10 remaining in the period. After Chris Bocklet scored with 5:24 left for UVa, Duke received goals from Christian Walsh and Josh Offit to cap the first period scoring.
Shamel Bratton ended the Duke run and started off the second period scoring when he scored on a Nick O’Reilly pass with 9:15 left in the first half. Justin Turri answered for Duke, scoring with 5:47 left before the intermission, extending Duke’s lead back to three goals, 7-4.
UVa scored the next three goals to tie the score at 7-7, overlapping into the 13:44 mark in the third quarter. Briggs scored two goals before the break and Rhamel Bratton capped the run with the first goal of the third quarter.
Duke emerged on a 4-0 run of its own, taking an 11-7 lead. Robert Rotanz scored three of the goals and Jordan Wolf tallied the other in the streak. O’Reilly cut the run when he grabbed a ricocheted shot and deposited in the goal with one second left in the third frame, cutting UVa’s deficit to three goals, 11-8.
Rotanz scored again, followed by a Jake Tripucka goal, giving Duke a commanding 13-8 lead with 7:05 left to play. UVa mounted a comeback with goals by Bocklet , LaPierre and Briggs, cutting the deficit down to two goals, 13-11. Duke was able to defend UVa’s final offensive push when Blue Devil goalie Dan Wigrizer stuffed Rhamel Bratton at point blank range. Duke was able to clear the ball and run out the remaining seconds for the victory.
Virginia finishes ACC play tied for No. 2 in the league, but based on tiebreakers will pull the No. 4 seed in the upcoming ACC Tournament. UVa returns to Durham and faces No. 1 seed Duke in the ACC Tournament semifinal round on Friday. Faceoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.
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