Men's Lacrosse Southern Conference

Air Force edges No. 11 Duke in OT thriller

DURHAM, N.C. - Chris Walsch took a feed from Nick Hruby and scored the game-winner with 10 seconds left in overtime to lift No. 20 Air Force to a 10-9 win over No. 11 Duke in a non-conference game Tuesday, March 22, in Durham, N.C. Air Force improved to 7-2 overall this season and set a new school record with its seventh-straight win over Division I foes. The win was Air Force’s first over the Blue Devils since 1975.

Duke scored the first three goals of the game and had a 3-0 lead after one period. Andrew Tien put the Falcons’ on the board at 14:06 of the second period, his eighth of the season. Walsch’s first of the game came midway through the second quarter, but the Blue Devils had a 5-2 lead at the half.

Early in the third quarter, the teams traded goals as Myles Jones scored twice for Duke while Christopher Allen and Tien scored for the Falcons. In the final 1:26 of the third quarter, Hruby and Walsch scored and the Falcons trailed 8-6 entering the fourth quarter.

Three straight goals by the Falcons early in the fourth quarter, gave Air Force a 9-8 lead. Hruby’s second of the game, 12th of the season, came at 12:52. Austin Smith scored at 11:58 and then Allen’s second of the game, 17th of the season, came at 10:42 for Air Force’s first lead of the game. Duke’s Deemer Class tied the game with 6:01 left in the fourth.

In overtime, the Falcons won a ground ball in the midfield and Hruby led the odd-man rush down the left side. Hruby’s seventh assist of the season set up Walsch for the game-winner with 10 seconds left.

Doug Gouchoe, who leads the Southern Conference and ranks in the top eight in the nation in both goals-against average and saves percentage, made 17 saves in the game, the second most of his career. Walsch, a sophomore, netted the 13th hat trick of his career. He added four assists for a season-high seven points, the second most of his career.

Duke outshot Air Force, 42-28, in the game and won 17 of the 22 faceoffs. Duke won 37 ground balls, while Air Force won 19.

Air Force travels to Detroit Mercy for a nonconference game on Saturday.