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In the hazy afterglow of the biggest win in Jacksonville men’s lacrosse history, coach John Galloway sought out Max Waldbaum.

“Nobody believed in me,” Waldbaum said as they hugged.

The Dolphins made believers out of everyone in the lacrosse world Sunday, defeating No. 3 Duke 14-12 in Durham in the first major upset of the 2022 season.

Waldbaum, the 6-foot-2, 230-pound transfer from Division III Tufts, scored four goals and added two assists for Jacksonville, which went on a six-goal run bridging the second and third quarters and survived a late comeback bid by the Blue Devils.

Waldbaum, a Denver native, also scored four goals last week in a narrow loss at Johns Hopkins.

“He’s changed our program in a lot of ways,” Galloway said. “He plays a 2v1 ground ball drill like it’s a game against Duke. His competitive edge and his want to prove himself is so clear.”

The Dolphins derailed a Duke offense that came in averaging nearly 18 goals per game. They shut off Brennan O’Neill (two goals on 2-for-9 shooting) with a short stick and forced others to initiate. Galloway also credited defenseman Colin Hinton, whom he said should be on Premier Lacrosse League coaches’ radar.

"Coach [Chris] Perzinski did an amazing job with the game plan,” Galloway said, praising his defensive coordinator. “Essentially the analogy was getting on the highway with Duke, they're a Ferrari and we're a Ford Taurus. We weren't gonna win that race. Can we take it off the highway into city streets and throw some traffic cones at them?"

Midfielder Jack Dolan added three goals and goalie Luke Millican made 10 saves, including a sprawling stop at the end of the first half on Andrew McAdorey after which Galloway turned to his assistants and said, “We’re gonna remember that one.”

Jacksonville led 7-5 at the time and the momentum carried over into the third quarter, as the Dolphins scored three more unanswered goals to take a commanding lead. They led by as many as six in the fourth quarter. Duke scored four goals in the final five minutes, but Millican ranged low to make a save on Nakeie Montgomery with 18 seconds left. Montgomery got the rebound, but his second attempt was blocked. Jacksonville recovered the ball and heaved it to the other end of the field to seal the win.

GEORGETOWN SURGES PAST HOPKINS

Georgetown withstood an early flurry from Johns Hopkins to defeat the Blue Jays 16-8 in the Hoyas’ season opener Sunday at Cooper Field.

The Hoyas, ranked No. 4 in the Nike/USA Lacrosse Division I Men’s Top 20 after advancing to the NCAA quarterfinals for the first time since 2007, trailed 5-2 toward the end of the fourth quarter but outscored Johns Hopkins 14-3 the rest of the way. Dylan Watson led the onslaught with six goals.

Patrick Stevens was onsite in Washington, D.C. Read his recap here.

VIRGINIA HOLDS OFF HIGH POINT

Looking to make it two SoCon-over-ACC upsets on the same day, High Point pushed No. 1 Virginia to the limit, but the two-time defending NCAA champion Cavaliers held on for an 11-10 win Sunday in Charlottesville.

The game was neck-and-neck before Virginia went on a four-goal run to take a 10-6 lead at the end of the third quarter. Matt Moore scored three goals, Connor Shellenberger had five assists and Matthew Nunes made 16 saves for the Cavaliers — his 16th save coming with 19 seconds left to preserve the win.

HOW THE TOP 20 FARED

No. 1 Virginia 11, High Point 10
Jacksonville 14, No. 3 Duke 12
No. 5 Georgetown 16, No. 15 Johns Hopkins 8
No. 6 North Carolina 15, Colgate 9