#16 Duke Destroys #15 Marquette Men's Lacrosse

Criminy.

Kyran Clarke answered Myles Jones' goal at the 8:36 mark of the first quarter, and that was it for the Golden Eagles on Friday night, as #16 Duke defeated #15 Marquette, 16-1.  It's not the worst beating that MU has ever suffered, as they got cracked 19-3 by Duke back in 2013.  It's the lowest goal output by Marquette in program history though, surpassing the three goals scored by MU in last year's loss to Bellarmine.

That loss to Bellarmine ended up crushing Marquette's chances at an NCAA tournament berth, and this game may have done the same for this year's edition of the Golden Eagles.  Both Duke and Marquette came into the day as bubble teams, and the NCAA selection committee is going to come away from this game with a clear definition on which team belongs in the 16 team field and which one does not.

Duke scored nine first half goals on 14 shots on goal and 21 shots overall.  I'd go further into detail, but let's be honest: it doesn't matter, does it?  I guess if you want to take a positive from all of this, Marquette held Myles Jones and Deemer Class to three goals and two assists.  Unfortunately, Jack Bruckner and Justin Guterding combined for seven goals and three assists while the defense was doing a decent job limiting Jones and Class.  Duke ended up playing 41 dudes, so I'm guessing head coach John Danowski emptying his bench did a better job holding down Jones and Class than Marquette did.

Marquette's postseason hopes are now completely pinned on their chances of beating Denver.  They'll play the Pioneers next week Saturday, and if they don't beat Denver for the Big East regular season title there, MU will likely get a second crack at them if they can get to the Big East tournament title game.  If they don't beat Denver in the regular season, they'll definitely need the Big East's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament to make the Big Barbecue.