Summer Lax News and Notes

[burnspbesq]

Wow, I turned the game off because Canada was dominating, the Iroquois defense was horrible, and the Iroquois were also playing like a bunch of punks with lots of nasty slashes, including a bunch after plays were whistled dead. I will have to go back and watch - what the heck happened in the second half?

The Iroquois stopped taking silly penalties, and started winning all the ground-ball battles. Most importantly, they moved Lyle Thompson from midfield to attack, and put him at X. The fourth quarter is well worth watching.

Andrew Rullan, playing for a very strong German team, is the leading Duke scorer. He put up his second hat trick in a row on Sunday, giving him eight goals for the tournament (seven more than he scored in three seasons at Duke).

[burnspbesq]

The classification rounds started this morning. Scotland, Germany, and Israel are one win away from playing with the big boys in the medal round. The last spot in tomorrow's quasi-round-of-16 belongs to the winner of Netherlands vs. New Zealand.

Andrew Rullan found a new way to contribute for dear old Deutschland. With Germany's dominant faceoff guy, Chris Mattes of the MLL Florida Launch, missing, he stepped in at the dot and went 6-for-6, with seven GBs, in Germany's 9-5 win over the Czech Republic.

Another familiar name showed up in the box score of Scotland's win over Finland. Jesse Fehr, who played the 2011 season at Duke as a grad student after graduating from Harvard with a year of eligibility left, chipped in three assists.

Germany - Israel could be one of the most competitive games of the tournament. Former Hopkins midfielder Lee Coppersmith blew up for Israel today, scoring five goals in a surprisingly easy win over Ireland. The matchup between Coppersmith and Germany's Simon Giourmetakis (a former first-team All-MAAC performer at Canisius) could be fun to watch.

[MCFinARL]

If you didn't see last night's US victory over England, an easy 20-1 victory in which Ned Crotty had a goal and 2 assists and Dave Lawson had 2 goals, you may want to watch it just the hear Quint Kessenich heap love on Duke-connected folks--Crotty, Lawson and John Danowski. Especially a lot of love for Lawson and how he has developed into an exceptional player while also, until recently, holding down a job at a private equity firm in Boston.

Lots of credit to Danowski for focusing on player development--he noted how Lawson, for example, spent a couple of years playing on defensive midfield before taking on a major role in the offense. Kessenich even got in a complimentary mention of Jordan Wolf, though he is not on the team.

[budwom]

Danowski is one of the most impressive, (if not THE most impressive), coaches I've had the pleasure of watching over the past 47 years of Duke watching. Everything, his player development, his in-game coaching, his sideline demeanor, his recruiting, is top notch. Watching him develop teams over the past few years has been a genuine pleasure.

[burnspbesq]

A surprisingly easy 18-5 win for the USA over the Iroquois on the last night of pool play for the Blue group. Tucker Durkin, the former Hopkins defender, had a great night against Lyle Thompson, and Rob Pannell blew up for seven goals. It might have been different if Jesse Schwartzmann hadn't made three ridiculous saves in the first quarter.

Quiet nights for Ned and Dave, who each had a goal and an assist.

So much for Israel-Germany being competitive. The blue and white went nuts, winning 15-1. In their first time in the tournament, they are in the quarterfinals against Australia. The other quarter will be Iroquois-Scotland. The US and Canada have byes into Thursday night's semis.

[burnspbesq]

The US is in Saturday night's championship game after a 22-3 demolition of Australia. Dave Lawson led the onslaught with four goals and two assists, and Ned Crotty rang the bell twice. Dave passes Andrew Rullan as the top scoring Duke alum in the tournament.

Iroquois and Canada are having a surprising defensive battle. It's 4-3 Haudenosaunee at halftime. They played a lot of zone in the first half, and soon-to-be Cuse goaltender Warren Hill has been locked in.

If he is academically up to Duke standards, I sure hope we're recruiting Oakley Thomas of the Iroquois. Kid is absolutely an ACC-caliber defender. He has one more year at Onondaga CC.

[burnspbesq]

Canada are deserving world champions after putting on two sensational defensive performances in the semifinal and final. If you can hold the Iroquois and the US to a total of eleven goals, you earned those gold medals.

Five former Duke players participated in the tournament, all all five turned in solid-to-superb performances. Zak Greer, Ned Crotty, and Dave Lawson all made significant contributions. Jesse Fehr was a hugely important complementary player for a Scotland team that achieved its best performance ever, finishing fifth and moving into the top group for 2018. Andrew Rullan played a major role in Germany's ninth-place finish. Well done, gentlemen.

[chrishoke]

That championship game was unwatchable. All credit to Canada, but the US allowed them to dictate tempo the entire game and didn't match their intensity and fight until it was too late.

[MCFinARL]

That championship game was unwatchable. All credit to Canada, but the US allowed them to dictate tempo the entire game and didn't match their intensity and fight until it was too late.

Yes. I wonder if their easy road to the final made the US team less sharp than they needed to be. I also wonder if the coaching staff could have developed a strategy that would work better for this particular game.

I believe I saw a stat that Canada won 35 groundballs to the US's 22. In a game where one team is slowing the pace and controlling possession, you just can't let them pick up that many ground balls.

[Billy Dat]

Yes. I wonder if their easy road to the final made the US team less sharp than they needed to be. I also wonder if the coaching staff could have developed a strategy that would work better for this particular game.

I believe I saw a stat that Canada won 35 groundballs to the US's 22. In a game where one team is slowing the pace and controlling possession, you just can't let them pick up that many ground balls.

Very disappointing. I credit Canada with execution of a great scheme, but early on we had a ton of turnovers - forced and unforced - that kind of set the stage for a bad performance. When Ward stuck the stick in Rabil's belly, yes, it was a dirty move, but it was also a big FU to the face of US Lacrosse and a sign that they weren't going to lay down. The US had a few point blank chances to tie it at 3-3 early in the second half, failed, and then the route was on.

I think this World Cup was good for the sport, but it would be more fun to see a US v Canada series played annually - maybe like the USSR v Canada Summit Series in hockey.

[Billy Dat]

When Ward stuck the stick in Rabil's belly...

I didn't mean Ward, maybe he's burned on my brain because he played so well. I think it was Hall.

[MCFinARL]

I didn't mean Ward, maybe he's burned on my brain because he played so well. I think it was Hall.

Correction noted. Ward did play extremely well.

[burnspbesq]

Kyle Rowe, younger brother of current Duke player Jack Rowe, is transferring to Duke. He will have three years of eligibility remaining.

At Stony Brook in 2014, he was the top freshman FOGO in all of D1, winning 62.5 percent. He finished the season number four overall in IL's freshman ratings.

He went 6-for-15 against B. Fowler in Duke's February win over the Seawolves.

Welcome to Duke, Kyle.

[R2Dukie]

Kyle Rowe, younger brother of current Duke player Jack Rowe, is transferring to Duke. He will have three years of eligibility remaining.

At Stony Brook in 2014, he was the top freshman FOGO in all of D1, winning 62.5 percent. He finished the season number four overall in IL's freshman ratings.

He went 6-for-15 against B. Fowler in Duke's February win over the Seawolves.

Welcome to Duke, Kyle.

Is he going to be eligible to play next season or does he need to redshirt for a year?

[burnspbesq]

Is he going to be eligible to play next season or does he need to redshirt for a year?

Don't know for certain, and the piece at IL online didn't say either way, but there is recent precedent for key contributors playing right away. See, e.g., Jack Bobzien, who played for Fairfield in 2013 and Denver in 2014.

If all else fails, we'll find out on the second Saturday in February.

[budwom]

Don't know for certain, and the piece at IL online didn't say either way, but there is recent precedent for key contributors playing right away. See, e.g., Jack Bobzien, who played for Fairfield in 2013 and Denver in 2014.

If all else fails, we'll find out on the second Saturday in February.

From what I've been reading, lax guys can play right away...not like hoops and futbol...there is a thread on this seeming inconsistency in NCAA rules
over at laxpower...this is most fortuitous for next year, of course.

[johnb]

A 15 yr old from rural Ottawa has committed to play for Duke. He won't start until 2017, apparently when he finishes grade 13.

http://news.ca.msn.com/local/ottawa/...uke-university

[burnspbesq]

A 15 yr old from rural Ottawa has committed to play for Duke. He won't start until 2017, apparently when he finishes grade 13.

http://news.ca.msn.com/local/ottawa/...uke-university

Interesting article, but I think Taylor Wray and Jesse Fehr would be surprised to learn that Zack Greer was the only Canadian ever to play at Duke.

The young man has game. Ty Xanders, who covers recruiting for IL, called him "the best finisher" at this summers Maverik Showtime.

Welcome to Duke, eh.

[burnspbesq]

Congrats to Josh Dionne, who will henceforth be known as Coach Dionne. Josh has landed a full-time, paying gig as an assistant coach for the women's team at the Naval Academy. Megan Huether '06 will also be joining the Mids' staff as a volunteer assistant.

[MCFinARL]

Congrats to Josh Dionne, who will henceforth be known as Coach Dionne. Josh has landed a full-time, paying gig as an assistant coach for the women's team at the Naval Academy. Megan Huether '06 will also be joining the Mids' staff as a volunteer assistant.

Great news. When he was injured, Dionne said it gave him an opportunity to "coach," something he had always wanted to do. So it sounds like he is headed in that direction.