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06-02-2013, 12:38 PM
The celebrations of Duke’s second national championship have barely died down, and thoughts turn to next year. Although Duke loses a number of major contributors, the Blue Devils have an elite group coming back and a solid recruiting class coming in. Next year should be fun.
Who’s Leaving
Of the 21 guys who played regularly in 2013, eight were in their final year of eligibility. We lose Lawson, Tripucka, and Offit from the offensive midfield units, DeLuca and Patterson from the short-stick d-mids, staring defender Conners, and DiMaria and O’Neill from the man-down defense. That’s a lot of leadership heading out the door, but it’s less than a third (32.8 percent, to be exact) of Duke’s goal-scoring.
Who’s Back
At the core of Duke’s 2014 team will be three players who can lay claim to pre-season first-team All-America status. Until Virginia’s Chris LaPierre proves that he is fully recovered from his season-erasing knee injury, Will Haus is inarguably the best returning SSDM in the nation. Brendan Fowler returns after obliterating the NCAA record for face-off wins in a season. Jordan Wolf is the best returning attackman not named Thompson.
Duke brings back its entire starting attack, a unit that combined for 130 goals. Four poles, two defenders (Hipps and Lobb) and two LSMs (Duprey and Dailey), return, all with the demonstrated ability to dominate matchups against elite offensive players. If Duprey can learn to control his aggressiveness just a little, and stay away from silly penalties, he’s a potential first-team All-America.
The three returnees on the offensive midfield, Walsh, Jones, and Class, combined for 44 goals, which isn’t bad for two freshmen and a converted attackman who last played midfield in middle school. Walsh didn’t see much of the ball playing on the first unit with Lawson and Tripucka; I expect his scoring to pick up next year. As the season wore on, and particularly on Championship Weekend, Jones showed tremendous growth in the mental side of his game; his potential is nearly unlimited. Freshman John Shaffer showed well in his occasional runs with the second midfield, and has the chance to play a much bigger role going forward. Freshman Joe Kruy, in limited action, looked like someone who could step into a bigger role at SSDM going forward.
In goal, Kyle Turri had an up-and-down year, but his 16-save performance against Cornell in the semifinals hinted at the possibility of significant improvement in his shot-stopping, and his passing ability and out-of-crease play have never been in doubt.
Who’s Arriving
According to the lawpower.com recruiting database, Duke’s lacrosse Class of 2017 consists of nine players. Five have been selected to play in the upcoming Under Armour All-America Game, and two others participated in last summer’s Warrior 40 camp. Midfielders Jack Bruckner (Setauket, NY/Ward Melville), Tommy Zenker (Melville, NY/Chaminade), and Garrett Van de Ven (Plano, TX/Dallas Jesuit) all appear capable of contending for immediate playing time. Highly regarded attackman Justin Guterding (Garden City, NY/Garden City) is reportedly considering a PG year at prep school. Goaltender Danny Fowler (brother of Brendan) (Wantagh, NY/Chaminade) is also highly regarded. All in all, this looks like a group that is capable of contributing at the ACC level, some immediately, some farther down the road.
Projecting the 2014 Lineup
Attack: Wolf, Dionne, and Matheis will start. Connolly will provide depth, and may play on EMO. If he enrolls, Guterding will earn playing time.
Midfield: Walsh, Jones, and Bruckner will be the first offensive unit. Class, Zenker, and Shaffer will be the second unit. Duprey and Dailey will be the LSMs. Haus, Kruy, and Van de Ven will be the SSDM rotation. Payton may see time at SSDM. B. Fowler will face off, with occasional relief from freshman Richard Dankz (Clarence, NY/Clarence Central).
Defense: Hipps and Lobb will start for sure; the third starter will come from among Carroll (if he is granted an extra year by the NCAA and chooses to play), Ikeda, and freshman Brian Dunne (Melville, NY/Chaminade). Freshman Ian Yanulis (Boston, MA/Boston College HS) may see time on the man-down unit.
Goal: Turri has the inside track to start, but both Aaron and D. Fowler will get long looks in the fall.
Conclusion
Patrick Stevens has been unveiling his way-too-early 2014 top 20 at laxmagazine.com, five at a time, and we know by the process of elimination that he has Duke in his top five, along with Carolina, Syracuse, Denver, and Notre Dame. Duke has a chance to be really, really good in 2014; the Blue Devils will be tested as never before in ACC play with the arrival of Cuse and ND, but an eighth consecutive trip to Championship Weekend is a real possibility.
Who’s Leaving
Of the 21 guys who played regularly in 2013, eight were in their final year of eligibility. We lose Lawson, Tripucka, and Offit from the offensive midfield units, DeLuca and Patterson from the short-stick d-mids, staring defender Conners, and DiMaria and O’Neill from the man-down defense. That’s a lot of leadership heading out the door, but it’s less than a third (32.8 percent, to be exact) of Duke’s goal-scoring.
Who’s Back
At the core of Duke’s 2014 team will be three players who can lay claim to pre-season first-team All-America status. Until Virginia’s Chris LaPierre proves that he is fully recovered from his season-erasing knee injury, Will Haus is inarguably the best returning SSDM in the nation. Brendan Fowler returns after obliterating the NCAA record for face-off wins in a season. Jordan Wolf is the best returning attackman not named Thompson.
Duke brings back its entire starting attack, a unit that combined for 130 goals. Four poles, two defenders (Hipps and Lobb) and two LSMs (Duprey and Dailey), return, all with the demonstrated ability to dominate matchups against elite offensive players. If Duprey can learn to control his aggressiveness just a little, and stay away from silly penalties, he’s a potential first-team All-America.
The three returnees on the offensive midfield, Walsh, Jones, and Class, combined for 44 goals, which isn’t bad for two freshmen and a converted attackman who last played midfield in middle school. Walsh didn’t see much of the ball playing on the first unit with Lawson and Tripucka; I expect his scoring to pick up next year. As the season wore on, and particularly on Championship Weekend, Jones showed tremendous growth in the mental side of his game; his potential is nearly unlimited. Freshman John Shaffer showed well in his occasional runs with the second midfield, and has the chance to play a much bigger role going forward. Freshman Joe Kruy, in limited action, looked like someone who could step into a bigger role at SSDM going forward.
In goal, Kyle Turri had an up-and-down year, but his 16-save performance against Cornell in the semifinals hinted at the possibility of significant improvement in his shot-stopping, and his passing ability and out-of-crease play have never been in doubt.
Who’s Arriving
According to the lawpower.com recruiting database, Duke’s lacrosse Class of 2017 consists of nine players. Five have been selected to play in the upcoming Under Armour All-America Game, and two others participated in last summer’s Warrior 40 camp. Midfielders Jack Bruckner (Setauket, NY/Ward Melville), Tommy Zenker (Melville, NY/Chaminade), and Garrett Van de Ven (Plano, TX/Dallas Jesuit) all appear capable of contending for immediate playing time. Highly regarded attackman Justin Guterding (Garden City, NY/Garden City) is reportedly considering a PG year at prep school. Goaltender Danny Fowler (brother of Brendan) (Wantagh, NY/Chaminade) is also highly regarded. All in all, this looks like a group that is capable of contributing at the ACC level, some immediately, some farther down the road.
Projecting the 2014 Lineup
Attack: Wolf, Dionne, and Matheis will start. Connolly will provide depth, and may play on EMO. If he enrolls, Guterding will earn playing time.
Midfield: Walsh, Jones, and Bruckner will be the first offensive unit. Class, Zenker, and Shaffer will be the second unit. Duprey and Dailey will be the LSMs. Haus, Kruy, and Van de Ven will be the SSDM rotation. Payton may see time at SSDM. B. Fowler will face off, with occasional relief from freshman Richard Dankz (Clarence, NY/Clarence Central).
Defense: Hipps and Lobb will start for sure; the third starter will come from among Carroll (if he is granted an extra year by the NCAA and chooses to play), Ikeda, and freshman Brian Dunne (Melville, NY/Chaminade). Freshman Ian Yanulis (Boston, MA/Boston College HS) may see time on the man-down unit.
Goal: Turri has the inside track to start, but both Aaron and D. Fowler will get long looks in the fall.
Conclusion
Patrick Stevens has been unveiling his way-too-early 2014 top 20 at laxmagazine.com, five at a time, and we know by the process of elimination that he has Duke in his top five, along with Carolina, Syracuse, Denver, and Notre Dame. Duke has a chance to be really, really good in 2014; the Blue Devils will be tested as never before in ACC play with the arrival of Cuse and ND, but an eighth consecutive trip to Championship Weekend is a real possibility.