Duke Lacrosse finishes the regular season…and a renaissance in Chapel Hill

Photo Gallery: Duke Lacrosse v Air Force.

Duke played a late regular season game against the Air Force Falcons on Sunday, easily winning 19-6 in a game that left the Duke defense twiddling their thumbs while the offense scored mercilessly. In the second half, Duke cleared the bench; gone were the familiar jerseys of Danowski, Greer, Carrol and McFadyen and in were players that I didn’t even know played for Duke. As I edited the photos from the game, I had to keep reaching for the roster as I asked myself “Who the heck is this?” over and over. Photographically speaking, it was snoozer of a game. The Falcons were too overmatched to create exciting photos. Knowing what a boring blowout the game would be, Inside Lacrosse didn’t even bother hiring me for the game. Can’t say I blame them at all. Fans of Zach Greer however could have created a highlight reel from just this game as he alone scored five.

While Duke still has lots of lacrosse to play, presumably right up until Memorial Day (that’s when the NCAA Championship is for all you non-lacrosse heads), Sunday ended the regular season. Even without NCAA post-season having started, Duke has now played twice as many games as they played all last year after a Duke President, with an itchy finger on the button, dumped the entire team’s season. All that mess aside, the success of Duke this year is nothing short of amazing; and this coming from a Tar Heel born and bred, hate Dook fan. Duke had the handicap of a shortened season last year, leaving the team with vastly less practice time. Throw a wrench in the cog of having a new coach and the national media scrutiny bearing down on the guys, this wasn’t suppose to be a #1 ranked team. But at 14-2, that is how Duke is ranked in the upcoming NCAA tournament. Nearly everyone who knows the difference between a long and short lacrosse stick projects them to make the Final Four; and most project the NCAA Championship Trophy to be on a team bus heading to Durham after Memorial Day weekend. Whether this happens or not, the success of the team can’t be discounted; it is down right remarkable.

Speaking of success, that of my alma mater in Chapel Hill has been nothing short of stunning. After loosing Ryan Blair, Andrew and Stephen McElduff among others, I expected 2007 to be another rough season for the Heels. But it started with a 11-8 win over Notre Dame; a game was written off as a “lock” win for Notre Dame by some. “It” was a culture of winning that finally began to permeate the team. Last year we just seemed resigned to loosing. This year, we have fought for every point, every second. We even gave the titans of Duke and UVA a run for their money. Wins over UNC are now considered “quality wins” instead of the easy kind. It’s nice to finally be a boost to an opposing team’s SOS. One of the greatest moments for Tar Heel lacrosse was when we shocked the Hop (Johns Hopkins) 13-10. It was by far one of the most thrilling moment in my life as a professional sports photographer and Tar Heel fan. That game was held at Kenan Stadium where two years ago the football team shocked then #2 Miami. The upset over Hopkins was no less important to the school. It legitimized the team and showed that we can and would compete at the national level. This year was great, but man I can’t wait until next year. If you live in the Triangle, this weekend will hold some great NCAA action. In what could be a blowout, Duke will take on Providence at noon on Saturday at Duke. Later at 5pm UNC will take on Navy at Fetzer Field.