Duke Player Pulls Lacrosse Version Of Kenny Pickett's Fake Slide To Score Crucial Goal In NCAA Tournament

Duke Lacrosse, the No. 1 overall seed in the 2023 Division-I Men's Lacrosse Tournament, will face Michigan in the quarterfinals for a chance to compete for a national championship birth. To get to that point, the Blue Devils beat the Delaware Blue Hens 12-11 on Sunday.

One of their dozen goals was, essentially, the lacrosse version of Kenny Pickett's fake slide.

Back in December of 2021, Pittsburgh played Wake Forest in the ACC Championship. The pocket collapsed on Pickett early in the first quarter, so he took off up the middle with nothing but green grass in front of him.

He was at the 40, then the 50, then the 45—

Right before Pickett reached the 40, as two Demon Deacon defenders closed in, he pretended to slide down and avoid contact. SIKE!

Instead of actually hitting the turf, though, he kept his feet as the defense stopped in its tracks, and continued running into the end zone. Pickett scored the first touchdown of the game.

While not illegal, the fake slide was frowned upon — *insert The Hangover reference here*

The NCAA later made fake slides illegal, but it wasn't at the time.

On Sunday, Duke pulled a Pickett while trailing 2-0 early in the first quarter. Kind of.

Freshman middie Aidan Maguire forced a turnover in his own half, brought the ball back up the field, and dumped it off to his teammate. As the Blue Devils and Hens continued to fight over a loose ball, Maguire looked to his coach, called for a substitution and headed back toward his sideline.

SIKE! Maguire reversed course, caught a pass in stride, fired from point-blank range and scored.

Maguire's fake sub isn't illegal and it worked. And, if not for the fake sub, the game would have gone to overtime!