The No. 10 Virginia men's lacrosse team suffered its second loss in consecutive weeks to No. 6 Duke as it fell to the Blue Devils, 19-10, in the ACC Tournament semifinals and failed to defend its 2010 conference title.
Junior midfielder Colin Briggs started the scoring early for the Cavaliers (8-5) with a fast-break goal only 1:23 into the first quarter. Virginia kept that advantage deep into the first quarter and led 4-2 with 55 seconds remaining in the first. One of those goals came from junior attackman Chris Bocklet, who now has scored during 31 consecutive games - the longest streak in the country.
But the Blue Devils (11-4) responded with a quick goal to end the half and then scored five more unanswered goals for an 8-4 lead they never would relinquish. Six different Duke players scored during that 6-0 run. Briggs scored again with 7:29 remaining and trimmed the gap to three, but the Cavaliers would not get closer for the rest of the night. The Blue Devils padded their lead with another 6-0 run during the third quarter for a 14-5 advantage that all but put the game out of reach for Virginia, and then Duke added insult to injury with a 5-3 run to finish the game.
Virginia had 18 turnovers - its second-worst such mark all season - and was outshot, 41-33. The Cavaliers finish their regular season Saturday at home against Penn.
-compiled by Dean Overdyk