Duke v. Cornell – Final Four Preview
On Saturday, the Duke Blue Devils will take on the red-hot Big Red of Cornell en route to the NCAA Championship game on Memorial Day. This has all the makings of being a high scoring, high flying game. With both teams playing extremely well as of late; it’s almost impossible to predict the winner.
***
Cornell has been explosive on offensive lately, led by Tewaaraton finalist (and hands-on favorite to win) Rob Pannell (42 Goals and 53 Assists), Steve Mock ( 59G, 9A), and Connor Buczeck (32G, 17A.), contributing to the team’s 16 goals in each of their last two games and complete domination against Maryland in the first round (16-8) and Ohio State in the Quarterfinals (16-6).
Duke on the other hand continues to find ways to win; pulling off 1-win victories over Loyola in OT (12-11) and a last second goal against Notre Dame (12-11) primarily due to hot-hand of Case Matheis. This is the 7th consecutive year that Duke has found their way to Championship Weekend, and are led by Jordan Wolfe (49 G, 25 A), Josh Dionne (40G, 5A), and David Lawson (32 G, 15 )A.
The Blue Devils’ goalie, Kyle Turrie, has been good-enough so far this run but will be tested against the Cornell Offense.
Overall, Cornell seems to be a team of destiny this year and is firing on all cylinders right now but perhaps haven’t been challenged, yet. Whereas Duke is battle tested and have shown incredible poise and concentration to close-out incredibly tight games against good competition. Bold prediction: Duke 12, Cornell 11.
The Confidential 