burnspbesq
02-04-2017, 08:09 PM
After two consecutive disappointing seasons, Duke men’s lacrosse opens the 2017 season against Air Force on Sunday afternoon (3:30 p.m. EST, ACC Network Extra) facing a long list of question marks. Gone is a first midfield unit that accounted for almost 110 goals, an invaluable glue guy on attack, and the latest in a long line of top-quality LSMs. The good news (or is it the bad news?) is that the entire starting close defense and the starting goaltender return. That group could, on any given day, be anything from sensational (Marquette, Loyola in the regular season) to dreadful (Carolina and Syracuse in the regular season). In comes the nation’s top-ranked freshman class, which will be called on to grow up fast and in public, a quality transfer, and three potentially key contributors whose 2016 seasons were wiped out by injury.
Who’s Gone. Fifteen players graduated after last season, including five who were key members of the squad. The losses start with the entire first midfield. Myles Jones and Deemer Class combined for over 200 career goals, including 83 last season. Chad Cohan added 26, including the overtime winner against Syracuse in the regular season. Also gone are 56-point-scoring attackman Case Matheis and top LSM Jamie Ikeda, who chipped in four points and 34 ground balls.
Who’s Back. The list of returnees starts with the ACC’s leading scorer in 2016, junior attackman Justin Guterding. He’s joined up front by 45-goal scorer Jack Bruckner. There are high hopes for redshirt freshman Sean Lowrie; at least a couple of pundits expect him to step in immediately, freeing Bruckner to return to midfield, the position he was recruited to play.
The key returnee at midfield, sophomore Brad Smith, put up nine goals on the revolving door that was Duke’s second midfield last year before making key contributions to the USA team that won the U-19 world championship over the summer. Juniors Jake Seau and David Gill are expected back after surgery to repair injuries that snuffed out their sophomore seasons. Elite faceoff guy Kyle Rowe returns for his senior season after winning over 60 percent in 2016.
Three members of last year’s four-man SSDM unit, seniors Thomas Zenker and Garret Van de Ven and sophomore John Prendergast, return; Van de Ven sat out the fall after off-season surgery, but is expected to be ready to go. They are expected to be joined by senior Ethan Powley, retuning to LSM after playing close defense for the last two seasons.
Four defenseman who saw extensive playing time, seniors Brian Dunne and Ian Yanulis (who also made a big splash after moving to a wing on the faceoff unit at mid-season), junior Greg Pelton, and sophomore Cade van Raaphorst, are all back, along with senior goaltender Danny Fowler. Redshirt freshman Turner Uppgren may also see time in net.
Who’s New. In a deep and talented group of newcomers, the key players are likely to be attackman Joey Manown, midfielders Sean Cerrone, Terry Lindsey, and Kevin Quigley, and defenders J.T. Giles-Harris and Walker Scaglione. Manown, a 2015 Under Armour All-American from Rhode Island, lit up the New England prep school ranks during a PG year at Deerfield. Cerrone, a junior transfer from Villanova, scored 57 points in two seasons and was a member of the 2015 Big East All-Freshman team. Lindsey, an elite scoring midfielder at Georgetown Prep, had a big impact at SSDM for the U-19 national team. Quigley, a UA A-A from Ridge High (Basking Ridge, NJ), is the third consecutive New Jersey midfielder of the year to choose Duke. Giles-Harris, the younger brother of Duke linebacker Joe Giles-Harris, was a UA A-A and first team all-State at close defense at St. Joseph’s Regional (Montvale, NJ). His relative lack of size and elite athleticism (he was also first team all-State at safety) suggest that a move to LSM may be in his future. Scaglione, a first team all-State at Cosby HS in the Richmond area, has tremendous length at 6’7” and surprisingly good feet for a big guy. Other freshmen who may see time include Bryan Smyth, the heir apparent to Rowe at the faceoff position, and attackman Reilly Walsh.
What to Expect in 2017. Expect growing pains played out in public. There is tremendous talent all over the field, but any team that relies heavily on freshman—especially freshman midfielders—is likely to start slow, and Duke’s early schedule provides four severe tests (Air Force tomorrow, Denver in two weeks, and Richmond and Loyola in early March). If the lessons are learned early, this could be a dangerous group by the time ACC play starts at Syracuse on March 25. On the other hand, given Duke’s strength of schedule, a .500 record and no NCAA tournament appearance for the first time since 2003 is a realistic worst-case scenario.
I’m almost certain to be wrong, but here’s what I expect the rotation to look like.
Goal: Barring injury or catastrophic loss of form, Fowler is the guy.
Defense: Yanulis, Pelton, and van Raaphorst will start, with Dunne seeing a lot of time. Scaglione will be a fixture at the top of the man-down unit.
LSM: Powley and Giles-Harris will alternate. Jack Fowler may also see some time.
SSDM: Zenker and Prendergast will see the most time, but Van de Ven and Gill will also play a lot (unless Gill is moved to offense).
FOGO: Rowe, spelled occasionally by Smyth and Teddy Henderson.
Offensive midfield: Smith, Cerrone, and Lindsey will make up the first unit. Seau, Quigley, and either Gill or Matthew Giampetroni will comprise the second group. If midfield production is lacking early on, Bruckner will join Smith and Lindsey, and Cerrone will run with Seau and Quigley.
Attack: Guterding, Bruckner, and Manown will start. Lowrie will play a lot, potentially including time on the extra-man unit. If Bruckner moves to midfield, Lowrie will take his spot, with Walsh providing depth.
Can’t wait to see how this season unfolds.
Who’s Gone. Fifteen players graduated after last season, including five who were key members of the squad. The losses start with the entire first midfield. Myles Jones and Deemer Class combined for over 200 career goals, including 83 last season. Chad Cohan added 26, including the overtime winner against Syracuse in the regular season. Also gone are 56-point-scoring attackman Case Matheis and top LSM Jamie Ikeda, who chipped in four points and 34 ground balls.
Who’s Back. The list of returnees starts with the ACC’s leading scorer in 2016, junior attackman Justin Guterding. He’s joined up front by 45-goal scorer Jack Bruckner. There are high hopes for redshirt freshman Sean Lowrie; at least a couple of pundits expect him to step in immediately, freeing Bruckner to return to midfield, the position he was recruited to play.
The key returnee at midfield, sophomore Brad Smith, put up nine goals on the revolving door that was Duke’s second midfield last year before making key contributions to the USA team that won the U-19 world championship over the summer. Juniors Jake Seau and David Gill are expected back after surgery to repair injuries that snuffed out their sophomore seasons. Elite faceoff guy Kyle Rowe returns for his senior season after winning over 60 percent in 2016.
Three members of last year’s four-man SSDM unit, seniors Thomas Zenker and Garret Van de Ven and sophomore John Prendergast, return; Van de Ven sat out the fall after off-season surgery, but is expected to be ready to go. They are expected to be joined by senior Ethan Powley, retuning to LSM after playing close defense for the last two seasons.
Four defenseman who saw extensive playing time, seniors Brian Dunne and Ian Yanulis (who also made a big splash after moving to a wing on the faceoff unit at mid-season), junior Greg Pelton, and sophomore Cade van Raaphorst, are all back, along with senior goaltender Danny Fowler. Redshirt freshman Turner Uppgren may also see time in net.
Who’s New. In a deep and talented group of newcomers, the key players are likely to be attackman Joey Manown, midfielders Sean Cerrone, Terry Lindsey, and Kevin Quigley, and defenders J.T. Giles-Harris and Walker Scaglione. Manown, a 2015 Under Armour All-American from Rhode Island, lit up the New England prep school ranks during a PG year at Deerfield. Cerrone, a junior transfer from Villanova, scored 57 points in two seasons and was a member of the 2015 Big East All-Freshman team. Lindsey, an elite scoring midfielder at Georgetown Prep, had a big impact at SSDM for the U-19 national team. Quigley, a UA A-A from Ridge High (Basking Ridge, NJ), is the third consecutive New Jersey midfielder of the year to choose Duke. Giles-Harris, the younger brother of Duke linebacker Joe Giles-Harris, was a UA A-A and first team all-State at close defense at St. Joseph’s Regional (Montvale, NJ). His relative lack of size and elite athleticism (he was also first team all-State at safety) suggest that a move to LSM may be in his future. Scaglione, a first team all-State at Cosby HS in the Richmond area, has tremendous length at 6’7” and surprisingly good feet for a big guy. Other freshmen who may see time include Bryan Smyth, the heir apparent to Rowe at the faceoff position, and attackman Reilly Walsh.
What to Expect in 2017. Expect growing pains played out in public. There is tremendous talent all over the field, but any team that relies heavily on freshman—especially freshman midfielders—is likely to start slow, and Duke’s early schedule provides four severe tests (Air Force tomorrow, Denver in two weeks, and Richmond and Loyola in early March). If the lessons are learned early, this could be a dangerous group by the time ACC play starts at Syracuse on March 25. On the other hand, given Duke’s strength of schedule, a .500 record and no NCAA tournament appearance for the first time since 2003 is a realistic worst-case scenario.
I’m almost certain to be wrong, but here’s what I expect the rotation to look like.
Goal: Barring injury or catastrophic loss of form, Fowler is the guy.
Defense: Yanulis, Pelton, and van Raaphorst will start, with Dunne seeing a lot of time. Scaglione will be a fixture at the top of the man-down unit.
LSM: Powley and Giles-Harris will alternate. Jack Fowler may also see some time.
SSDM: Zenker and Prendergast will see the most time, but Van de Ven and Gill will also play a lot (unless Gill is moved to offense).
FOGO: Rowe, spelled occasionally by Smyth and Teddy Henderson.
Offensive midfield: Smith, Cerrone, and Lindsey will make up the first unit. Seau, Quigley, and either Gill or Matthew Giampetroni will comprise the second group. If midfield production is lacking early on, Bruckner will join Smith and Lindsey, and Cerrone will run with Seau and Quigley.
Attack: Guterding, Bruckner, and Manown will start. Lowrie will play a lot, potentially including time on the extra-man unit. If Bruckner moves to midfield, Lowrie will take his spot, with Walsh providing depth.
Can’t wait to see how this season unfolds.