MLax: 2018 Season

[burnspbesq]

Duke enters the 2018 season carrying the weight of outsized expectations. Every poll that matters has Duke in the top two. And the expectations are understandable: the Blue Devils return eight double-figure goal scorers from last year's NCAA quarterfinal squad, along with two studs at the back and a fifth-year senior in goal. There are some question marks, however, and continued development by a sophomore class that more than lived up to its ranking will go a long way to determining whether Duke fans will be tailgating in Foxborough at the end of May.

Who's Gone. Graduation Day was not kind to the Duke lacrosse program. At the top of the list of losses are Jack and Kyle-Bruckner's 45 goals and Rowe's 58.3 percent performance at the faceoff dot. Less heralded, but perhaps more important, are the five departures at the back: poles Ethan Powley, Brian Dunne, and Ian Yanulis and SSDMs Thomas Zenker and Garret Van de Ven.

Who's Back: It starts, of course with Justin Guterding. After a 97-point season in 2017, Gut is the undisputed offensive leader for the Blue Devils and a potential Teewaaraton finalist. Joey Manown returns to run on attack, coming off a 29-goal freshman campaign. In the midfield, the whole crew returns, led by Brad Smith, Kevin Quigley, and four other double-figure scorers, plus SSDMs Sean Cerrone and Terry Lindsey. At the back, both junior Cade van Raaphorst and J.T. Giles-Harris got pre-season All-America mentions, and they are joined by senior Greg Pelton, who split time between close and LSM. Danny Fowler returns for one more season, coming off a solid-but-unspectacular 51.5% performance in 2017, and backup Turner Uppgren looked good in limited minutes.

Who's Arriving. Inside Lacrosse ranked Duke's incoming freshmen as the nation's third-best group, and in my view it's a fair ranking. The Blue Devils bring in three Under Armour All-Americans and a fourth top-25 recruit, plus a handful of other guys who will be expected to contribute. The top two names are midfielders Nakeie Montgomery and Cam Badour. Montgomery, from Dallas Episcopal, has sensational speed and quickness and a well-rounded offensive arsenal. How fast? There is a clip on YouTube of him running back a punt for a touchdown for Episcopals's football team. The acceleration when he hit the seam will explain why Coach Danowski had to out-recruit Coach Cutcliffe to get him. Badour, a big lefty from Ottawa who ran with top freshman Tehoka Nanticoke of Albany at IMG Academy, has the complete box skill set (he sat out the Ontario Junior A season due to injury, which made folks around St. Catherine's sad). It's easy to imagine his career arc looking like Bruckner's, or (do I dare? Dare!) Zack Greer's. Throw in LSM Raines Shamburger from Atlanta and number-two incoming FOGO Joe Stein from D.C., and you've got a really nice nucleus. On top of that, Duke adds two excellent grad transfers, attackman Peter Conley from Georgetown and defender Kevin McDonough from Penn, along with midfielder Cody Brinkman, who joins the squad after four years with the Duke men's soccer team (and yes, Joe Giles-Harris, I am looking at you as I write that).

The Annual Futile Exercise in Predicting the Rotation. It's harder than ever this year, because there is so much talent available up front. At the back, it's something of a different story. All of these predictions assume no major injuries-and because Duke is thin at the back, injuries could derail the season.

On attack, you can write Guterding and Manown on the lineup sheet with a Sharpie. If healthy, they're playing. I expect Conley to be the third starter, although it's possible that Badour could be inserted into the Bruckner role immediately. Freshman Joe Robertson, rated in the top 40 at the position by IL, will provide depth.

So many possibilities at midfield. For Coach Danowski's eleven seasons at Duke, the practice has been to run two lines of offensive mids and a four-man rotation at SSDM, plus two or three LSMs. If that's the way they line up this year, pick six from among Smith, Quigley, Mongomery, Badour, Lowrie, Smyth, Prendergast, Russell, and freshman Matt Chmil. If Prendergast isn't one of those six, he will step back into the SSDM role he handled capably as a freshman, alongside Cerrone, Lindsey, and (if he can finally stay healthy for a full season) Seau. But thinking outside the box … Duke has enough ACC-caliber mids to run four old-school two-way units. Will the staff do it? Only time will tell. Pelton and Shamburger are the guys at LSM, alongside Peter Welch, and Jack Fowler may find his way into the rotation as well.

At the back it looks like van Raaphorst, Giles-Harris, and either McDonough or sophomore Walker Scaglione, who missed the 2017 season due to injury. At 6'7", Scaglione's range would make him a natural choice to step into Ian Yanulis' old spot on the man-down unit, and he could also see time as a faceoff wing.

The dot belongs to the combination of sophomore Brian Smyth, who won 51 percent in limited duty in 2017, and freshman Stein. In goal, Danny Fowler's the guy, period, full stop.

What to Look For. In what is generally considered a down year in the ACC (three teams outside the top ten in a number of pre-season polls), the sky is the limit for this team. The non-conference schedule isn't soft-Denver is a top-five team, and Marquette, Towson, Loyola, and Richmond can challenge-but it's manageable. Duke goes to Notre Dame, but gets Carolina and Syracuse at home. Barring injury, and assuming normal development by the freshmen and continued development by the sophomores, this team could be really, really good. Don't pre-pay for hotel rooms near Foxborough for Memorial Day weekend, but it is not imprudent to make reservations.

[budwom]

thanks for that, Paul. So what's the deal with Seau, he just never panned out?

[burnspbesq]

thanks for that, Paul. So what's the deal with Seau, he just never panned out?

Season-ending foot injuries, three years in a row. Never played more than 13 games in a season. As a freshman, he ran on the second midfield, and scored three goals (which was three more than Dave Lawson scored as a freshman).

[TKG]

Heading to the game on Saturday against Air Force. Hope we can avoid our typical slow start to the season.

[DST Fan]

Nice to see Jake Seau score a goal. Otherwise, Air Force seems to be totally over matched, so it's hard to judge how Duke is playing. 15-3 at the beginning of the 4th quarter.

[DST Fan]

Final score: 18-4.

[budwom]

AFA was ranked #17 FWIW, pretty solid start.

[buddy]

Solid performance, even if AFA is undermanned right now. Need to clean up the FO game. Interesting that Fowler only played one half. Uppgren looked good in goal. Maybe a goalie controversy? Gratifying to see Duke run three excellent midfield units. In the last couple of years we had trouble putting a second unit on the field. If the team can consistently play three units they may run some teams off the field.

[DST Fan]

Solid performance, even if AFA is undermanned right now. Need to clean up the FO game. Interesting that Fowler only played one half. Uppgren looked good in goal. Maybe a goalie controversy? Gratifying to see Duke run three excellent midfield units. In the last couple of years we had trouble putting a second unit on the field. If the team can consistently play three units they may run some teams off the field.


Not only undermanned, but in the middle of a difficult situation with the coaching staff. But I agree that Duke looked impressive on both offense and defense.


http://www.insidelacrosse.com/article/air-force-coach-seremet-s-status-uncertain-as-season-begins/51230

[budwom]

Lacrosse has become one of my very favorite Duke sports, I wish I could get to some of the games...Duke makes few treks to the northeast...(playing in six inches of snow right now could be one reason why, the Vermont team played at Furman a few days ago).

[burnspbesq]

A few random notes from today’s game.

Roster surprises: I didn’t expect Robertson to start, and I didn’t expect to see Greg Shea as part of the SSDM rotation, but they both looked good. Harrington and Jack Fowler played on man down, and the unit held AF to 1-4. After four years of soccer, Cody Brinkman got to hit somebody, in a fourth-quarter GB scrap, and he made the most of the opportunity.

Badour didn’t dress. I think everybody who dressed played.

Cerrone and van Raaphorst had GREAT games on defense. I can’t remember a single time Duke had to slide to Cerrone’s man. Van Raaphorst blanketed Nick Hruby, the Falcons’ number one offensive threat, holding him to one goal on only five shots and forcing a turnover.

Duke took really good care of the ball, going 17-18 on clears and giving up only seven turnovers.

Duke killed a one-minute six-on-four midway through the fourth quarter.

The efficiency stats tell the story of the game. Duke scored 18 on 33 possessions for 54.5 percent while holding AF to 12.5 percent (4-32).

Somewhere in Denver, Trevor Baptiste is smiling.

[DST Fan]

A few random notes from today’s game.

Roster surprises: I didn’t expect Robertson to start, and I didn’t expect to see Greg Shea as part of the SSDM rotation, but they both looked good. Harrington and Jack Fowler played on man down, and the unit held AF to 1-4. After four years of soccer, Cody Brinkman got to hit somebody, in a fourth-quarter GB scrap, and he made the most of the opportunity.

Badour didn’t dress. I think everybody who dressed played.

Cerrone and van Raaphorst had GREAT games on defense. I can’t remember a single time Duke had to slide to Cerrone’s man. Van Raaphorst blanketed Nick Hruby, the Falcons’ number one offensive threat, holding him to one goal on only five shots and forcing a turnover.

Duke took really good care of the ball, going 17-18 on clears and giving up only seven turnovers.

Duke killed a one-minute six-on-four midway through the fourth quarter.

The efficiency stats tell the story of the game. Duke scored 18 on 33 possessions for 54.5 percent while holding AF to 12.5 percent (4-32).

Somewhere in Denver, Trevor Baptiste is smiling.


Agree with your last comment. If Duke can develop a face-off guy, this team appears to have final four potential. Although Joe Stein took only 4 face-offs today, Inside Lacrosse suggested in its preview of Duke that he could be the one.

[WiJoe]

A few random notes from today’s game.

Roster surprises: I didn’t expect Robertson to start, and I didn’t expect to see Greg Shea as part of the SSDM rotation, but they both looked good. Harrington and Jack Fowler played on man down, and the unit held AF to 1-4. After four years of soccer, Cody Brinkman got to hit somebody, in a fourth-quarter GB scrap, and he made the most of the opportunity.

Badour didn’t dress. I think everybody who dressed played.

Cerrone and van Raaphorst had GREAT games on defense. I can’t remember a single time Duke had to slide to Cerrone’s man. Van Raaphorst blanketed Nick Hruby, the Falcons’ number one offensive threat, holding him to one goal on only five shots and forcing a turnover.

Duke took really good care of the ball, going 17-18 on clears and giving up only seven turnovers.

Duke killed a one-minute six-on-four midway through the fourth quarter.

The efficiency stats tell the story of the game. Duke scored 18 on 33 possessions for 54.5 percent while holding AF to 12.5 percent (4-32).

Somewhere in Denver, Trevor Baptiste is smiling.

Thanks for the great post. Please continue, before and after games.

[jimsumner]

http://www.theacc.com/news/2018/2/5/duke-sweeps-first-mens-lacrosse-weekly-honors.aspx

[chrishoke]

Congrats to Guterding and Giles-Harris! Guterding's 10 point game vs. Air Force was simply amazing.

[burnspbesq]

Who foresaw that Thursday night’s home game against High Point would turn out to be a trap game? Watching Jacksonville’s stunning win over Navy, and it doesn’t look like a fluke. In former Duke assistant John Galloway’s second year as head coach, the Dolphins play smart, disciplined lacrosse, and they have a stud at the faceoff dot in Hunter Forbes (19-22).

This is not your father’s Jacksonville.

[duke2x]

Duke defeats High Point 18-6 where it looks like everyone played as expected. I know some may be frustrated with basketball (and perhaps still with football), but this team is fun to watch against lesser competition. The first real test against Denver next week. I just wish I could go. :(

Kudos to Coach Danowski for rescheduling tonight's game so High Point's coach could attend a military induction tomorrow night. The extra rest against Jacksonville won't hurt either.

[BigWayne]

Who foresaw that Thursday night’s home game against High Point would turn out to be a trap game? Watching Jacksonville’s stunning win over Navy, and it doesn’t look like a fluke. In former Duke assistant John Galloway’s second year as head coach, the Dolphins play smart, disciplined lacrosse, and they have a stud at the faceoff dot in Hunter Forbes (19-22).

This is not your father’s Jacksonville.

Saw this article earlier this week on Jacksonville lacrosse. (http://www.insidelacrosse.com/article/jacksonville-pushes-to-become-the-lacrosse-capital-of-the-south/51213) They have big aspirations.

[burnspbesq]

Duke leads Jacksonville 9-4 at the half. Atfer a 5-0 first quarter, the Dolphins picked themselves up and fought Duke to a standstill in Q2. They aren’t going away, but they need to take care of the ball (12 turnovers).

[burnspbesq]

19-8 is your final score. Huge day for freshman attacker Joe Robertson, with eight points (3g, 5a). Duke’s defense caused 12 of the Dolphins’ 25 turnovers.

Now the fun starts. Denver comes to Koskinen next Friday at 5:00 Eastern.

[chrishoke]

One note of concern - Duke is still losing the faceoff battle.

[MCFinARL]

One note of concern - Duke is still losing the faceoff battle.

Yes. Next game against Denver, with its pre-season All American FOGO, will be a tough test of what this team can do without a strong face off game against top teams.

[DST Fan]

Joe Robertson looks as though he could be a special player.

Coming into the season, the two question marks were goal tending and face offs. In the portions of the three games I have watched, the goal tending has appeared to be adequate, although I can't recall seeing Coach Danowski split his goal tending time the way he has in the first three games. I assume Danny Fowler may have the opportunity to play the entire Denver game, but maybe not.

If Duke can improve its face off win percentage, I like this teams's chances of playing on Memorial Day weekend and I am looking forward to the Denver game. Obviously, Trevor Baptiste will present a challenge.

[MCFinARL]

Joe Robertson looks as though he could be a special player.

Coming into the season, the two question marks were goal tending and face offs. In the portions of the three games I have watched, the goal tending has appeared to be adequate, although I can't recall seeing Coach Danowski split his goal tending time the way he has in the first three games. I assume Danny Fowler may have the opportunity to play the entire Denver game, but maybe not.

If Duke can improve its face off win percentage, I like this teams's chances of playing on Memorial Day weekend and I am looking forward to the Denver game. Obviously, Trevor Baptiste will present a challenge.

If I recall correctly, it may not be that unusual for Danowski to split goal tending time in early games that are not close. It gives the other goalies a chance to play in real game situations so they will be more prepared if needed. But I suspect, like you, that Fowler will do most of the goaltending against Denver unless he has an especially tough outing or there is some other extraordinary circumstance.

[DST Fan]

If I recall correctly, it may not be that unusual for Danowski to split goal tending time in early games that are not close. It gives the other goalies a chance to play in real game situations so they will be more prepared if needed. But I suspect, like you, that Fowler will do most of the goaltending against Denver unless he has an especially tough outing or there is some other extraordinary circumstance.

My memory fails me all the time, but I also can't remember the last time that Duke regularly played 3 midfield lines.

[DST Fan]

A few other scores of interest from today's games:

Denver 11
Air Force 5

UNC 15
Furman 14 (OT)

UVA 13
Loyola 12 (2 OT)

Cuse 21
Binghamton 4

[burnspbesq]

Yes. Next game against Denver, with its pre-season All American FOGO, will be a tough test of what this team can do without a strong face off game against top teams.

True enough, but there is more than one way to skin this particular cat. I haven’t had time to read the play-by-play, but I think I remember a number of occasions where Jax won the faceoff, but continued pressure from Duke’s wings forced a turnover before the Dolphins could get into their offense.

I also loved what Smith did after a couple of his wins: he stayed on and ended up setting picks behind the net or at GLE to try and force the defense to switch. The outcome of Guterding being guarded by a FOGO is, I think, predictable—even if it’s Baptiste.

[burnspbesq]

Ready for #happyhourlacrosse?

Denver comes to Koskinen at 5:00 Eastern today. It’s number one vs. number three in Week Three, and ESPNU is giving it the full big-game treatment (Anish, Quint, and Carc).

For Duke the problem is simple: neutralize the advantage that Trevor Baptiste is likely to give the Pioneers. Duke has been brilliant on defense during its three-game rampage through SoCon (21 percent adjusted defensive efficiency), and they need to get the ball on the ground and go get it today, in order to give the nation’s top offense a chance to operate. Duke also needs to create extra possessions through the riding game.

Enjoy!

[camion]

It looks like the game is on ESPNU today at 5:00.

[budwom]

Ready for #happyhourlacrosse?

Denver comes to Koskinen at 5:00 Eastern today. It’s number one vs. number three in Week Three, and ESPNU is giving it the full big-game treatment (Anish, Quint, and Carc).

For Duke the problem is simple: neutralize the advantage that Trevor Baptiste is likely to give the Pioneers. Duke has been brilliant on defense during its three-game rampage through SoCon (21 percent adjusted defensive efficiency), and they need to get the ball on the ground and go get it today, in order to give the nation’s top offense a chance to operate. Duke also needs to create extra possessions through the riding game.

Enjoy!

very excited about this game, perfect cocktail hour fare...but overcoming Baptiste is going to be a chore, no matter how we approach it...this looks like a very very solid Duke team, especially since we
have developed some defense in the past year...

[Bob Green]

Ready for #happyhourlacrosse?

Denver comes to Koskinen at 5:00 Eastern today. It’s number one vs. number three in Week Three, and ESPNU is giving it the full big-game treatment (Anish, Quint, and Carc).



Thanks for the heads up. I'm ready to watch the team in what should be a very tough game.

[75Crazie]

Now I know how Duke opponents felt a few years back when Fowler was face-off man extraordinaire. Baptiste is having a feast with face-offs today against us.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Great 4th quarter! 15-12 Duke final!

[Bob Green]

Final: Duke 15, Denver 12. Exciting come from behind victory for our Blue Devils.

[TruBlu]

Duke was down 8 - 12 at the end of 3. Scored seven unanswered in the 4th.

[Blue in the Face]

What a great comeback. Denver had all the momentum, great job by the blue devils taking it back.

[53n206]

I can't believe it. Am retired. Market closed. Forgot game to soon start. Fell asleep. Woke up with score 12-8. Watched the rest of an unbelievable comeback. What a team!!!

[duke2x]

Quality win against a quality team that should be in the top 5 all year. We haven't beaten Denver since our last national title run. Lots of room to improve before Memorial Day.

[75Crazie]

I'm still not quite believing what I saw. Denver just imploded that fourth quarter. I can't say Duke's face-off play was much better that quarter, but Denver started turning it over and Duke was superb at taking advantage of that. Denver only had one shot on goal in the quarter! The younger team was the one that kept poise at the end.

[duketaylor]

Just awesome to hear this result as I worked all night. GO DEVILS!!!

[chrishoke]

For those interested the game should be available now to watch on replay at watchespn.

[DST Fan]

For those interested the game should be available now to watch on replay at watchespn.

Yes, it is. I went back and re-watched the fourth quarter last night. It was still hard to believe the second time.

This team can play some serious offense. Justin Guterding has developed into a complete player and a couple of his assists were perfect passes. He sees the field very well and it should be fun to watch him play with Joe Robertson this year. Peter Conley also provides an option that I wasn’t expecting going into the season. He shoots with a cannon.

Baptiste’s control of the face offs kept a lot of pressure on the D, but they improved later in the game and the 7 caused turnovers helped even things out. I am optimistic that the coaching staff willl develop one or two face off guys as the season progresses, but I am not sure that this rotating goalie approach is going to work and one of the announcers made the comment last night that Coach Danowski is looking for either Fowler or Uppgren to step up and win the job. I have a feeling that Danny may do that—because he’s a Fowler.

[AustinDevil]

For those interested the game should be available now to watch on replay at watchespn.

You can also just see the last five Duke goals here:

https://www.ncaa.com/news/lacrosse-men/article/2018-02-16/duke-vs-denver-college-lacrosse-blue-devils-score-seven

[budwom]

Yes, it is. I went back and re-watched the fourth quarter last night. It was still hard to believe the second time.

This team can play some serious offense. Justin Guterding has developed into a complete player and a couple of his assists were perfect passes. He sees the field very well and it should be fun to watch him play with Joe Robertson this year. Peter Conley also provides an option that I wasn’t expecting going into the season. He shoots with a cannon.

Baptiste’s control of the face offs kept a lot of pressure on the D, but they improved later in the game and the 7 caused turnovers helped even things out. I am optimistic that the coaching staff willl develop one or two face off guys as the season progresses, but I am not sure that this rotating goalie approach is going to work and one of the announcers made the comment last night that Coach Danowski is looking for either Fowler or Uppgren to step up and win the job. I have a feeling that Danny may do that—because he’s a Fowler.

Baptiste is a faceoff savant, but Duke tortured him during the fourth quarter....he won a series of faceoffs but then was unmerciifully harassed into a bunch of turnovers and near turnovers.
I bet he was a tired hombre last night.

[burnspbesq]

Being the optimist that I am, I will choose to believe that in the face of unrelenting pressure from the Duke D, Denver broke in the fourth. The Pios first five possessions ended as follows: pass intercepted, moving screen violation, pass out of bounds, pass out of bounds, over and back violation.

Conley was quietly brilliant all night. Two of his three goals were with his off hand. And he created the winning goal, by reversing the direction of ball rotation from clockwise to counter-clockwise. That had the Pios’ defense scrambling, and tore open the seam through which Guterding threaded the pass to Robertson.

Tough night for Giles-Harris, but Walker is going to be a tough night for a lot of defenders for the next three years. That guy is for real.

Notice how the third midfield disappeared in the first tough game of the season.

That was fun!

[burnspbesq]

Don’t miss cuse and Albany today at 2:00 Eastern on ACC Network Extra.

[BigWayne]

Outstanding game to watch, even before the comeback. Most impressive thing about the Duke team to me was the clearing game. Goalies were immediately finding an outlet pass and we didn't seem to have any trouble clearing. Hopefully this was from a new confidence on Duke's part and not a sign of Denver giving up the clears. I don't understand the game well enough to know for sure, but have cringed the last few years when Duke struggled to clear.

[burnspbesq]

Holy moly: Albany 15, Syracuse 3.

[75Crazie]

Being the optimist that I am, I will choose to believe that in the face of unrelenting pressure from the Duke D, Denver broke in the fourth. The Pios first five possessions ended as follows: pass intercepted, moving screen violation, pass out of bounds, pass out of bounds, over and back violation.

The Duke D on set possessions the first three quarters was pretty pedestrian, I thought. As budwom mentioned, we seemed to change tactics the fourth quarter to put a ton of pressure on Baptiste after won faceoffs. I think that rattled him, and it seemed to affect the rest of the team as well. The one play where he took the ball all the way down, around the goal, and back to midfield where he got nudged over the line was truly bizarre and seemed to summarize the play in general that quarter. I think Duke just created the template for other teams on how to handle faceoffs with Denver.

[MCFinARL]

True enough, but there is more than one way to skin this particular cat. I haven’t had time to read the play-by-play, but I think I remember a number of occasions where Jax won the faceoff, but continued pressure from Duke’s wings forced a turnover before the Dolphins could get into their offense.

I also loved what Smith did after a couple of his wins: he stayed on and ended up setting picks behind the net or at GLE to try and force the defense to switch. The outcome of Guterding being guarded by a FOGO is, I think, predictable—even if it’s Baptiste.

Props to you, this was a prophetic post vis a vis the fourth quarter of the Denver game.

[DevilHorse]

Holy moly: Albany 15, Syracuse 3.

After the first 10 minutes where Syracuse scored the first goal, Albany got cranking with their high powered offense. This includes All-American Conner Fields and #1 National Recruit Tehoka Nanticoke. This was Albany's first game and took a while to get going. The game was 4-1 at the half but just accelerated from there. Nanticoke is a 6'3" and 235 attackman, with a youtube highlight reel of shots (not unlike Zion Williamson) who scored 5 in this game. The goalie Colarusso was really good stopping many shots when Syracuse finally got one. Albany has a date with Maryland and one with Yale, but otherwise should dominate the remainder of their schedule.

Larry
Devilhorse
Albany and Duke Alum

[budwom]

After the first 10 minutes where Syracuse scored the first goal, Albany got cranking with their high powered offense. This includes All-American Conner Fields and #1 National Recruit Tehoka Nanticoke. This was Albany's first game and took a while to get going. The game was 4-1 at the half but just accelerated from there. Nanticoke is a 6'3" and 235 attackman, with a youtube highlight reel of shots (not unlike Zion Williamson) who scored 5 in this game. The goalie Colarusso was really good stopping many shots when Syracuse finally got one. Albany has a date with Maryland and one with Yale, but otherwise should dominate the remainder of their schedule.

Larry
Devilhorse
Albany and Duke Alum

A game which could prove interesting is the Vermont game...Albany is clearly better, but Vermont has a very very good team this year that few know about.

[Native]

Albany got cranking with their high powered offense. This includes All-American Conner Fields and #1 National Recruit Tehoka Nanticoke.

That's one heck of a one-two punch. This Albany team should be very fun to watch this season.

[burnspbesq]

That's one heck of a one-two punch. This Albany team should be very fun to watch this season.

You may want to invest in an America East TV subscription. ESPN has the Scoobies on their schedule exactly zero times.

[DST Fan]

Duke faces Penn at 3:00 this afternoon and ESPN3 is broadcasting the game

[DST Fan]

Duke Lacrosse Twitter is saying that the faceoff is delayed until 3:25.

[Bob Green]

I'm just started watching on ESPN3, Duke is up 7-3.

[DST Fan]

Up 7-4 at the half. Duke has out-shot Penn 22-11 but about 5 shots have hit the pipes. Face-offs continue to be an issue and Penn has won 8 of 12.

[Bob Green]

End of 3rd Quarter: Duke 7, Penn 5. Our offense was MIA in the 3rd.

[53n206]

Face off? Without the ball you cannot score, and we are not adequate there, so why bother? Can this problem be turned around?

[Bob Green]

Duke falls to Penn 10-9. The inability to win a face-off put too much pressure on the defense.

[75Crazie]

Face off? Without the ball you cannot score, and we are not adequate there, so why bother? Can this problem be turned around?
Not entirely accurate. We were abysmal in face-offs against Denver, and yet still won. Granted, it definitely helps to hold your own on face-offs ... but it is not an absolute determinant.

[75Crazie]

Hm, then again ...

[DST Fan]

The play in the second half was disappointing. Duke was outshot 24-10 in the second half and lost the ground balls by a margin of 17-6. The two EMOs also did not look sharp.

But, it is only February and I think the team will learn from this game. On the bright side, I thought Danny Fowler played well and kept Duke in the game in the third quarter.

[Bob Green]

I'm headed to Duke today with the grandson to watch the lacrosse game against Richmond. Hopefully the winds die down before the game starts. Moreover, the team needs to be focused on rebounding from last week's upset loss.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

I'm headed to Duke today with the grandson to watch the lacrosse game against Richmond. Hopefully the winds die down before the game starts. Moreover, the team needs to be focused on rebounding from last week's upset loss.
Bob, hope you find tickets for http://crazietalk.net/ourhouse/images/smilies/devil9f.gif http://crazietalk.net/ourhouse/images/smilies/devil9f.gifTHE game http://crazietalk.net/ourhouse/images/smilies/devil9f.gif http://crazietalk.net/ourhouse/images/smilies/devil9f.gif tonight!

[burnspbesq]

Duke will look to rebound from last week’s disappointing one-goal loss to Penn against the 2-2 Spiders, who had a nice win over Bucknell in Week Two and gave Notre Dame a bit of a tussle last week. The game will be on ACC Network Extra at 1:00 p.m. Eastern.

Richmond is led on offense by junior attackman Teddy Hatfield with 15 points. Freshman Ryan Lanchbury, a former Canadian U-19 national teamer, has six goals but shoots less than 25 percent. They give up just under 10 goals per game, and have won less than 45 percent of face-offs while not facing any elite FOGOs.

Personal note: hoping to finally get to meet some of y’all at the Syracuse game.

[53n206]

Probably have a good chance to win if we can just break even with the face-offs. Difficult position but we are not up to our standard there

[burnspbesq]

Probably have a good chance to win if we can just break even with the face-offs. Difficult position but we are not up to our standard there

Duke did better than break even. Stein went 12-21, the Blue Devil defense put on a clinic with 12 caused turnovers, and an 8-0 second quarter keyed a 14-4 win. Guterding led the offense with six goals and an assist. Van Raaphorst hung a bagel on the Spiders’ leading scorer. Fowler had ten saves.

Nice bounce-back performance for Duke.

[53n206]

Good game. Held Richmond to four points. Guterding was amazing, as usual. Joe Stein more then held his own at the X. Defense was fantastic. Van Raaphorst really good.
Van Raaphorst uses a black stick Makes me think of the old Nebraska football defensive teams who wore black jerseys for practice, and were called the black shirts. Perhaps we should call our defensive team" the black sticks".

[Bob Green]

Nice bounce-back performance for Duke.


Guterding was amazing, as usual. Joe Stein more then held his own at the X. Defense was fantastic.

I really enjoyed the game today. Guterding exploded in the 2nd quarter. It was a little windy and cool in the shade so the grandson and I moved around some during the 2nd half to stay in the sun.

[burnspbesq]

Duke closed the half with a four-goal run and leads Loyola, 6-4, at the break. Both defenses have been good.

[budwom]

Glorious victory, 13-9...Duke controlled the second and third periods. Game was at Loyola, and they're a top 10 team.

[chrishoke]

Final - Duke beats #6 Loyola 13-9. Really nice road win.

[DST Fan]

Loyola's goalie kept the game much closer than it could have been, but I thought Duke played a very solid game against a quality opponent.

Maybe Duke has found a faceoff guy. Freshman Joe Stein went 17-25 and had 9 groundballs. Although Justin Gutterding had a quiet day with only 1 goal and 1 assist, the first midfield exploded and Peter Conley and Brad Smith each had 4 goals and 2 assists. The defense looked solid generally and Cade Van Raaphorst neutralized Pat Spencer.

I'm looking forward to seeing the Towson game in person next week.

[MCFinARL]

Loyola's goalie kept the game much closer than it could have been, but I thought Duke played a very solid game against a quality opponent.

Maybe Duke has found a faceoff guy. Freshman Joe Stein went 17-25 and had 9 groundballs. Although Justin Gutterding had a quiet day with only 1 goal and 1 assist, the first midfield exploded and Peter Conley and Brad Smith each had 4 goals and 2 assists. The defense looked solid generally and Cade Van Raaphorst neutralized Pat Spencer.

I'm looking forward to seeing the Towson game in person next week.

Agree. The Loyola goalie was impressive, but in the end, he just had to face too many shots. In addition to the fact that Joe Stein seems to be developing well as he gets more time at the X, I like the way our wings are aggressively going for the ground balls when the face-off is not won cleanly.

I thought both teams turned the ball over quite a few times, but otherwise Duke looked very solid.

[burnspbesq]

Loyola was, per analyticslacrosse.com, top five in adjusted defensive efficiency, so 13 goals on 42 possessions was pretty good.

The old stereotype of ACC teams relying on size and athleticism to win was pulled out of the closet and dusted off by Mike Preston in his Baltimore Sun game story. There was something to it, as Smith in particular bullied the Hounds’ shorties all day. But it doesn’t explain the job Van Raaphorst did on Spencer, and it doesn’t explain Pelton and Welch’s brilliant wing play on face offs.

Thanks to Stein & co. Duke had a ten-possession advantage today. That’s huge.

Still, seven blown clears and 20-plus turnovers ensure that spring break practices will not be all fun and games.

[burnspbesq]

Loyola and Duke are numbers one and two in percentage of opponents’ possessions that end in turnovers, so the 38 combined TOs wasn’t surprising. Loyola’s inability to convert turnovers into transition opportunities was really big. Duke got back really well.

[MCFinARL]

Loyola was, per analyticslacrosse.com, top five in adjusted defensive efficiency, so 13 goals on 42 possessions was pretty good.

The old stereotype of ACC teams relying on size and athleticism to win was pulled out of the closet and dusted off by Mike Preston in his Baltimore Sun game story. There was something to it, as Smith in particular bullied the Hounds’ shorties all day. But it doesn’t explain the job Van Raaphorst did on Spencer, and it doesn’t explain Pelton and Welch’s brilliant wing play on face offs.

Thanks to Stein & co. Duke had a ten-possession advantage today. That’s huge.

Still, seven blown clears and 20-plus turnovers ensure that spring break practices will not be all fun and games.

Re the Preston article, yes, there was something to the size and athleticism point, but Preston didn't do his homework. He equated "big players" with "big schools," and while that works with Loyola, which is indeed small, he pulled into his discussion disadvantaged "small" schools like Towson, Albany, and Hofstra, which according to him suffer trying to compete with "big" schools like Duke and Syracuse. But all three of those schools have much bigger undergraduate enrollments than Duke, and Towson is bigger than Syracuse as well (Albany isn't a lot smaller than Syracuse, either).

[BigWayne]

Re the Preston article, yes, there was something to the size and athleticism point, but Preston didn't do his homework. He equated "big players" with "big schools," and while that works with Loyola, which is indeed small, he pulled into his discussion disadvantaged "small" schools like Towson, Albany, and Hofstra, which according to him suffer trying to compete with "big" schools like Duke and Syracuse. But all three of those schools have much bigger undergraduate enrollments than Duke, and Towson is bigger than Syracuse as well (Albany isn't a lot smaller than Syracuse, either).

Preston wasn't making a point about enrollment numbers of schools. (http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/college/lacrosse/bs-sp-preston-loyola-duke-0311-story.html)

His point, which is valid, was that schools with bigger athletic programs, and specifically major football schools, have a recruiting advantage. As lacrosse becomes more mainstream in the US vs. the regional niche it has occupied, his point becomes more valid. Just like other non-revenue sports, the P5 schools will become dominant in most cases because of the funding they are able to put into their total sports program.

[MCFinARL]

Preston wasn't making a point about enrollment numbers of schools. (http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/college/lacrosse/bs-sp-preston-loyola-duke-0311-story.html)

His point, which is valid, was that schools with bigger athletic programs, and specifically major football schools, have a recruiting advantage. As lacrosse becomes more mainstream in the US vs. the regional niche it has occupied, his point becomes more valid. Just like other non-revenue sports, the P5 schools will become dominant in most cases because of the funding they are able to put into their total sports program.

I understand that his main point was about big athletic programs and big athletes, but that is not exactly what he said:


But it’s hard for small schools such as Loyola and Towson to compete with big schools such as Maryland, Duke (6-1) and Syracuse, especially those universities with nationally ranked football programs.


Schools such as Loyola, Towson, Albany and Hofstra can still compete, but it’s hard to be a serious contender every year. That’s why the smaller schools love to play in conferences with other small schools because it levels the playing field as far as getting into the NCAA tournament and possibly winning the title.

Call me a nitpicker if you like, and I probably am, but of the schools he lists, really only Loyola can legitimately be called a "small school." Towson, with 19,000 undergrads, is quite a big school. He would have made his own point more clearly and more effectively if he had specified the size of the athletic budgets or programs rather than the size of the schools.

[budwom]

I understand that his main point was about big athletic programs and big athletes, but that is not exactly what he said:





Call me a nitpicker if you like, and I probably am, but of the schools he lists, really only Loyola can legitimately be called a "small school." Towson, with 19,000 undergrads, is quite a big school. He would have made his own point more clearly and more effectively if he had specified the size of the athletic budgets or programs rather than the size of the schools.

And I don't even think I buy the notion that a bigger athletic dept. budget gets you some significant advantage. There all kinds of schools which have done well and will continue to do so that don't have major
athletic departments...Johns Hopkins, Loyola, Towson, Denver, Albany, some of the Ivies like Princeton, Yale, Cornell, Penn. I'm sure most of those (the Ivies do things a bit differently but they do give plenty of aid) give the maximum number of scholarships and have highly competitive lax program budgets.

[sagegrouse]

And I don't even think I buy the notion that a bigger athletic dept. budget gets you some significant advantage. There all kinds of schools which have done well and will continue to do so that don't have major
athletic departments...Johns Hopkins, Loyola, Towson, Denver, Albany, some of the Ivies like Princeton, Yale, Cornell, Penn. I'm sure most of those (the Ivies do things a bit differently but they do give plenty of aid) give the maximum number of scholarships and have highly competitive lax program budgets.

On behalf of Denver, it is a big-time athletic program WITHOUT football or Div. 1 basketball. Lacrosse, soccer, and hockey are among the strongest in the entire country.

[budwom]

On behalf of Denver, it is a big-time athletic program WITHOUT football or Div. 1 basketball. Lacrosse, soccer, and hockey are among the strongest in the entire country.

I'm hardly disagreeing with that, Sage. I'm only aiding in refuting the notion that big budgeted athletic programs (with football)have some big advantage in fielding lacrosse teams.
Denver has lots of big time programs...but because they don't play football, their athletic dept budget size is modest, roughly $28 million. That's about the same as Duke's football budget alone, hoops is
another $20 million...all in all, Duke's budget in 2015 was roughly $92 million.

[MCFinARL]

And I don't even think I buy the notion that a bigger athletic dept. budget gets you some significant advantage. There all kinds of schools which have done well and will continue to do so that don't have major
athletic departments...Johns Hopkins, Loyola, Towson, Denver, Albany, some of the Ivies like Princeton, Yale, Cornell, Penn. I'm sure most of those (the Ivies do things a bit differently but they do give plenty of aid) give the maximum number of scholarships and have highly competitive lax program budgets.

Very good point. In some ways, the Ivies may actually have a bit of an advantage, because, while they don't offer any athletic scholarships (by league rule), they generally offer, as you note, generous need-based financial aid. Given that lacrosse scholarships are limited enough that few players actually get a full ride anyway, the need-based aid standards at schools like Harvard and Yale might be extremely competitive with athletic aid somewhere else.

[BigWayne]

And I don't even think I buy the notion that a bigger athletic dept. budget gets you some significant advantage. There all kinds of schools which have done well and will continue to do so that don't have major
athletic departments...Johns Hopkins, Loyola, Towson, Denver, Albany, some of the Ivies like Princeton, Yale, Cornell, Penn. I'm sure most of those (the Ivies do things a bit differently but they do give plenty of aid) give the maximum number of scholarships and have highly competitive lax program budgets.

That is the current and historical case, but that is changing. The growth of lacrosse beyond its historical eastern US footprint will end up bringing more of the P5 schools. Schools like Mercer and Jacksonville have seen the success of Denver and Loyola and want to try to get in on it, but it's a challenging effort still for them. Places like Ohio State and Michigan can go from club status to being significant powers in lacrosse in a very short time.

Georgia has over 100 HS lacrosse teams now. If UGA wants to field a lacrosse team, they could be a significant player in short order.

[budwom]

That is the current and historical case, but that is changing. The growth of lacrosse beyond its historical eastern US footprint will end up bringing more of the P5 schools. Schools like Mercer and Jacksonville have seen the success of Denver and Loyola and want to try to get in on it, but it's a challenging effort still for them. Places like Ohio State and Michigan can go from club status to being significant powers in lacrosse in a very short time.

Georgia has over 100 HS lacrosse teams now. If UGA wants to field a lacrosse team, they could be a significant player in short order.

Yeah, I think that's true, major universities have a big startup advantage...I just don't think I buy the notion that for existing programs, big budgeted athletic depts. with football teams
have any advantage whatsoever over schools that don't. In fact, given the cost of running a football program, maybe it's a disadvantage. (football programs are painfully expensive, and studies have often found
that many if not most programs actually lose money, though it must be noted that how schools account for costs is VERY inconsistent, and apples and apples can rarely be compared.)

[burnspbesq]

If UGA wants to field a lacrosse team, they could be a significant player in short order.

Not so much. GaTech is one of three ACC men’s club programs that are perennial MCLA powerhouses (BC and VaTech are the others). If the Dawgs and Wreck were to switch to NCAA D1 at the same time, my money would be on GaTech to be way ahead after five years. They might not win a single ACC game during that period, but they would be feasting on SoCon, NEC, and America East teams in no time.

[53n206]

Bring them on. The more the merrier. Expansion into the Southwest, led by the Dallas area, will introduced many talented athletes to the game, and ultimately to Duke.

[budwom]

bumped the thread to pose a question: Men's lax is playing at Towson on Saturday, then at Cleveland State the next day. Why? I know Cleveland State isn't very good (but they're not a total joke either), and that seems like an unusual amount of travel. Two games in two days is pretty unusual; two road games at different venues is something I can't recall (among many other things I can't recall).

[budwom]

can't get much out of the previous bump, but i'm persistent. Lax today vs Towson, then Cleveland St tomorrow, still now answer as two why two road games in two days, there must be some unusual reason, even if Cleveland St. ain't much...Towson is a genuine opponent..

[duke2x]

My guesses:

1. It's Spring Break when road games are easier.
2. Danowski has a tradition of playing most of the brand new teams on a 2-1 basis. Hampton was the exception.
3. It gives us access to OH recruiting without playing OSU.
4. Don't expect the starters to play past the first quarter or once Duke has a lead.

They will have a week off to play Syracuse next Saturday in Durham. Towson is off to a so-so start (3-3) but is still a top 15 opponent.

[DST Fan]

Duke up 7-2 at the half.

[budwom]

great, i'm sure Danowski would like to rest some of the guys for tomorrow (though I agree, starters may not play too much vs Cleveland St)..

p.s. uh oh bigtime, it's 7-6 in the third, so much for resting starters

[budwom]

Towson ties it at 8, Duke then scores twice, 10-8 Duke, 4:22 left.

[chrishoke]

Duke wins 10-8. We went from up 7-2 to down 8-7.

[53n206]

We can look so very good-- then see Penn and now Towson! what gives?

[DST Fan]

We can look so very good-- then see Penn and now Towson! what gives?

I was only watching live stats, but, like the Penn game, Duke had a long stretch in which the offense apparently did not click and scored no goals in the third quarter. Towson has been a strong defensive team the past couple of years, so this may account for some of the drought. Duke won only 8 of 21 faceoffs, but Joe Stein went 6-14 and was was coming off a nice game against Loyola.

I think the positive take away was that, after giving up a 7-2 lead and trailing 8-7, Duke did not fold in the last 10 minutes of the game.

[buddy]

Duke wins 10-8. We went from up 7-2 to down 8-7.

First, no lead is ever safe in lacrosse. This is a game where theoretically one team can never get the ball. Second, Towson's FO % so far is 65%, so we actually did a little better than expected. Finally, we did come back. Towson is a real team, even though their record is mediocre this season. Take care of business tomorrow and then start conference play.

[fuse]

First, no lead is ever safe in lacrosse. This is a game where theoretically one team can never get the ball. Second, Towson's FO % so far is 65%, so we actually did a little better than expected. Finally, we did come back. Towson is a real team, even though their record is mediocre this season. Take care of business tomorrow and then start conference play.

There is a reason lacrosse is billed as the fastest sport on two feet.

[bigperm13]

Bump for the back to back. Handle business then bring on the Orange.

[chrishoke]

Duke wins 9-3.

[DST Fan]

On to ACC play. Syracuse comes to Durham on Saturday after losing its second straight game today to Rutgers by a score of 14-10. The game is televised on ESPNU at 1:30.

In an interview after the Cleveland State game, Coach Danowski expressed concern with the lack of team play by the offense and the fact that the offense is putting a lot of pressure on the defense and forcing it to play for extended stretches. He commented that it does not "feel" like the team is 8-1.

[chrishoke]

On to ACC play. Syracuse comes to Durham on Saturday after losing its second straight game today to Rutgers by a score of 14-10. The game is televised on ESPNU at 1:30.

In an interview after the Cleveland State game, Coach Danowski expressed concern with the lack of team play by the offense and the fact that the offense is putting a lot of pressure on the defense and forcing it to play for extended stretches. He commented that it does not "feel" like the team is 8-1.

Yep, not a stellar weekend for Duke Lacrosse, despite the 2 wins.

[Clocktower]

Go Devils!

Here's hoping Duke men's teams make it a bad weekend for SU.

It would be interesting to know where the Syracuse lax team is watching the hoops game tonight. Hope they're surrounded by Blue Devil fans somewhere in Durham.

[burnspbesq]

Syracuse has been wildly inconsistent so far this season, with solid wins over Virginia and Army and brutal losses to Albany, Hopkins, and Rutgers. The Orange are sitting at number 27 in the analyticslacrosse.com rankings, with an adjusted efficiency margin of only 2.8 percent (vs. Duke’s 19.3). They don’t do anything especially well.

Duke didn’t look great last weekend, but they should be favored. Syracuse has been awful in third quarters, and they aren’t outstanding on face offs. We’ll see what happens.

[DST Fan]

The game starts at 1:30 and will be televised on ESPNU. Let’s knock off the Cuse for the second time in 12 hours.

[Faison1]

Sorry if I missed this, but why do all the players have "Regan" on the backs of their jerseys?

[DangerDevil]

Sorry if I missed this, but why do all the players have "Regan" on the backs of their jerseys?

Jimmy Reagan, Duke Lacrosse player graduated in 02, enlisted in the Army, Killed in Action in 2007 in Iraq while deployed as an Army Ranger.

The link isn’t going to work from my phone:

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=792624

[Bob Green]

Sorry if I missed this, but why do all the players have "Regan" on the backs of their jerseys?

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=792624


Army Sgt. James John Regan, a Duke lacrosse letterman from 1999-02, was killed Friday, Feb. 9, 2007, in northern Iraq of wounds suffered when his vehicle was struck by an explosive. Regan was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment stationed in Fort Benning, Ga. He was 26.

[Bob Green]

End of 3Q: Duke 12, Syracuse 11

[Bob Green]

Final: Syracuse 15, Duke 14. We blew the game late by not controlling/clearing the ball on face-offs.

[Faison1]

Final: Syracuse 15, Duke 14. We blew the game late by not controlling/clearing the ball on face-offs.

Seems like we couldn't get any ground balls on the face offs, too. I think the commentators said SU got 5 face offs in a row at the end...

[chrishoke]

Our defense was boo awful - so many point blank unguarded opportunities.

[BigWayne]

Seems like we couldn't get any ground balls on the face offs, too. I think the commentators said SU got 5 face offs in a row at the end...

Syracuse switched to two long poles on the wings and outplayed us for the ground balls. Was the difference in the 4th quarter and ultimately the game.

[MCFinARL]

Syracuse switched to two long poles on the wings and outplayed us for the ground balls. Was the difference in the 4th quarter and ultimately the game.

Yes. Very frustrating that after winning most of the face-offs all game, Duke lost the key ones at the end. Syracuse really needed this game, and they always play close games with Duke. But this would have been a mighty nice one to win. Next up, UNC--another team that needs a win, even more desperately than Syracuse, after 4 straight losses.

[Billy Dat]

Random question - watching the Syracuse game on TV, each time Duke scored, the camera would show the fans in the stands at Koskinen and it looked like many were celebrating while facing the top of the stands rather than the field. Does anyone know why that is?

[BigWayne]

Random question - watching the Syracuse game on TV, each time Duke scored, the camera would show the fans in the stands at Koskinen and it looked like many were celebrating while facing the top of the stands rather than the field. Does anyone know why that is?

I saw that too. I was guessing there must be a video screen up there that shows replays.

[devilsadvocate85]

Random question - watching the Syracuse game on TV, each time Duke scored, the camera would show the fans in the stands at Koskinen and it looked like many were celebrating while facing the top of the stands rather than the field. Does anyone know why that is?

They throw t-shirts from the press box after every Duke goal.

[Bob Green]

End of 1Q: Carolina 2, Duke 1

[Bob Green]

Halftime: Duke 5, Carolina 5.

Justin Guterding scored three goals.

[burnspbesq]

Duke has a +11 possession advantage, but Carolina is playing a lot of zone, and Duke has struggled to get good looks. This one is very much up for grabs. Third quarter is going to be very big.

[burnspbesq]

Biggest crowd I've ever seen at Koskinen, for lax or soccer.

[Bob Green]

End of 3Q: Carolina 9, Duke 8.

[Bob Green]

Duke leads 10-9 with 11:14 to go in the game. First lead of the game.

[sagegrouse]

Duke leads 10-9 with 11:14 to go in the game. First lead of the game.

I'm sure you mentioned that the game is being telecast on ESPN-U.

[burnspbesq]

Don't like that rule. Shouldn't be allowed to save possession by calling time out from the bench.

[chrishoke]

What is wrong with our defense? Very disappointed.

[chrishoke]

Four unanswered.

[burnspbesq]

Guterding with his fourth of the day, tied with @bigbadwolf31 for second in points all time. Duke leads by two with eight and half to play.

[-jk]

Duke holds on for the win, 11-10!

9F!

-jk

[sagegrouse]

Guterding with his fourth of the day, tied with @bigbadwolf31 for second in points all time. Duke leads by two with eight and half to play.

Victory!! Whew!! Great defense in the last quarter, marred only by an inexcusable mistake, leading to an open-net goal.

[burnspbesq]

Duke's SSDMs came up huge at the end. Lindsey forced a turnover, Cerrone forced a turnover (his third CT of the game), Prendergast won his matchup. Big win.

Five losses in a row for Carolina. Que lastima.

On to ND.

Phew!

[chrishoke]

Well after I disparaged our defense they stepped up and won the game in the last 6 minutes. Two failed clears certainly made it tough.

[Native]

HUGE win. Defense came up stout when we needed it most. 9F!

[chrishoke]

That was the biggest crowd I can remember at a home lacrosse game.

[53n206]

Our first Game after the administration imposed shutdown was televised nationally, I think CBS, and it seems to me that thereafter lacrosse became big time on weekend television. Maybe I'm wrong. But at a homecoming weekend I went to the game that had really good attendance. We won, with a behind the back shot, either at the very end of the fourth, or in overtime. Magnificent game.
My point here is that what I saw on television today reminded me of the attendance that day. Wonderful to see that turnout, and the support for our team.
On the other hand, I really would like to see our defense tighten up.
GO DUKE!!!

[devildeac]

Duke holds on for the win, 11-10!

9F!

-jk

Did you mean 9F +1?

;)

[CameronBornAndBred]

That was the biggest crowd I can remember at a home lacrosse game.

I think the TV announcers said it WAS the largest.

[buddy]

I was at both the opener in 2007 and today. The boxscore for today said attendance was 4000. Stadium seats 4500 and can hold 7000. The sun side was virtually empty today. I think the 2007 opener had more people, but today was good. Could not find a box score for the 2007 game, but seem to remember an announced crowd of 6000. But then I am old and know that ESPN would never make anything up. Of course, about half were wearing the wrong shade of blue. Also, the 2007 opener was free, and there were free t-shirts for students. Good win today. JT Giles-Harris was fitted for the goat horns, but his teammates rallied and held on.

[awhom111]

I was at both the opener in 2007 and today. The boxscore for today said attendance was 4000. Stadium seats 4500 and can hold 7000. The sun side was virtually empty today. I think the 2007 opener had more people, but today was good. Could not find a box score for the 2007 game, but seem to remember an announced crowd of 6000. But then I am old and know that ESPN would never make anything up. Of course, about half were wearing the wrong shade of blue. Also, the 2007 opener was free, and there were free t-shirts for students. Good win today. JT Giles-Harris was fitted for the goat horns, but his teammates rallied and held on.

6485, although it felt like there were more of us packed in there that day:
http://www.goduke.com/pdf1/64425.pdf

[chrishoke]

6485, although it felt like there were more of us packed in there that day:
http://www.goduke.com/pdf1/64425.pdf

That 2007 team was the bomb. Matt Dano and Zack Greer - such beautiful offense.

[buddy]

6485, although it felt like there were more of us packed in there that day:
http://www.goduke.com/pdf1/64425.pdf

Yes it did. Thanks for demonstrating research skills far in advance of mine. 6485 most of whom were Duke students and/or fans (it was a "fur" piece to get to Durham from Dartmouth. Great team with a heartbreaking end.

[Native]

Our first Game after the administration imposed shutdown was televised nationally, I think CBS, and it seems to me that thereafter lacrosse became big time on weekend television. Maybe I'm wrong. But at a homecoming weekend I went to the game that had really good attendance. We won, with a behind the back shot, either at the very end of the fourth, or in overtime. Magnificent game.

I think this is the game you're thinking of: Brad Ross won it in overtime with an around-the-world.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBQn7Ym-7DM

[DST Fan]

Very nice win. Despite trailing the first three quarters, I thought the team maintained its poise and the defense made the critical stops in the last several minutes, which didn't happen in the Syracuse game. The goal at the end of the third quarter when Justin Guterding found Joe Robertson in front of the crease seemed to turn the game around and falling to 0-2 in the ACC would have created a deep hole to have to climb out of.

The face off guys (Stein and Smyth) seem to be figuring things out--winning 17 of 24 is a major improvement over some of the games earlier this season. And as impressive as Guterding's offensive numbers are, he never hesitates to go after a lose ground ball. He saved a couple of possessions in the fourth quarter when he did not give up on the plays.

Next week will be a test playing Notre Dame in South Bend. And it is hard to believe, but after being crushed by Albany and Hokpins in the first month of the season, Syracuse can go 3-0 in the ACC with a win over ND today.

[Ima Facultiwyfe]

Tarheel faithfuls were out in force all day --- and LOUD --- then quiet, bless their sanctimonious hearts.
Love, Ima

[WiJoe]

I don't know about placing of espn microphones, but I head ONE "cheer" during telecast. tar ... heels. (BLECH)

Do Duke fans just go for the t-shirts? Starting to sound like Cameron does on most nights.

Rather poor.

[burnspbesq]

Like seismic events to start your weekend?

UMBC 11, Albany 5 with less than a minute to go.

Denver 21, Nova 5 early in Q4.

[DST Fan]

I was surprised to see this week that Villanova is ranked 4 in RPI and Denver is 14. Duke’s RPI is 9, with no wins over a top ten RPI team. It would be nice if Denver could climb into the top ten. Also, ND is ranked 7 in RPI this week, so the game tomorrow is big for a number of reasons.

[MarkD83]

Like seismic events to start your weekend?

UMBC 11, Albany 5 with less than a minute to go.

Denver 21, Nova 5 early in Q4.

UMBC is known for upsetting top seeds.......

[budwom]

I want to see ND's Coach Corrigan whine like a baby all game long today, because he's very good at it, and it would probably (though not necessarily) mean Duke's winning.
I'm always impressed by the Deameanor Gap between him and Danowski.

[DST Fan]

I think that, to some extent, there is a demeanor gap between Coach Danowski and every D-1 lacrosse coach.

[53n206]

I think this is the game you're thinking of: Brad Ross won it in overtime with an around-the-world.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBQn7Ym-7DM

That's it! That's the game! Thanks for the memory.

[MCFinARL]

I want to see ND's Coach Corrigan whine like a baby all game long today, because he's very good at it, and it would probably (though not necessarily) mean Duke's winning.
I'm always impressed by the Deameanor Gap between him and Danowski.

Couldn't agree with you more. Corrigan is annoying.

[MCFinARL]

Looking solid for Duke with an 8-2 lead over Notre Dame and a couple of minutes to play. ND defense has been very physical and very tough, but their offense has really struggled without their best middie Gleason (injured) and their star goal scorer, Bryan Costabile (no relation to CJ). Reasons for Costabile's being in street clothes not disclosed.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Great win today! LGD GTHc!

[burnspbesq]

Didn’t see that coming. All-America-caliber performances from Cerrone and Prendergast. Complementary players stepped up on offense. Major implications for RPI and seeding.

[53n206]

Notre Dame defense was really physical. I'm surprised that They were not more penalties called on them. I think our offense looked pretty good, stable, a few turnovers. It will be interesting to look at the stats.

[DST Fan]

Although he was not forced to make a lot of saves today, I thought Danny Fowler made a number of nice plays outside the crease. The live stats on GoDuke credit him with 5 ground balls. I have not seen the final stats yet, but he may have led the team in GBs.

[chrishoke]

Always great to beat the Domers and their cry baby coach, especially on their home field. ND scored on the first possession of the game and then scored just one more goal the rest of the game. WOW.

[DST Fan]

UVA beat UNC 15-12 this evening in bad weather conditions in Chapel Hill and won its first ACC game in four years. UVA has improved over last year and has lost two goal games to Syracuse, Notre Dame and Hopkins. Another win by Duke next week in Charlottesville should help secure a first round NCAA tournament game at home.

[devildeac]

UVA beat UNC 15-12 this evening in bad weather conditions in Chapel Hill and won its first ACC game in four years. UVA has improved over last year and has lost two goal games to Syracuse, Notre Dame and Hopkins. Another win by Duke next week in Charlottesville should help secure a first round NCAA tournament game at home.


Hades-like?

[MCFinARL]

Although he was not forced to make a lot of saves today, I thought Danny Fowler made a number of nice plays outside the crease. The live stats on GoDuke credit him with 5 ground balls. I have not seen the final stats yet, but he may have led the team in GBs.

Yes, I agree--with the exception of one bad pass he made on a failed clear. He was quick to the ball when he left the goal and generally played very effectively.

[burnspbesq]

The coolest thing that happened on a lacrosse field this weekend: Noelle Lambert of UMass Lowell saw game action for the first time since losing a leg in a moped accident in the summer of 2016 ... and scored.

[MCFinARL]

The coolest thing that happened on a lacrosse field this weekend: Noelle Lambert of UMass Lowell saw game action for the first time since losing a leg in a moped accident in the summer of 2016 ... and scored.

Yes--that is both cool and very impressive. Reminds us how inspiring and redemptive sports can be at their best--and makes me wish they were that way more often.

[Tom B.]

I think this is the game you're thinking of: Brad Ross won it in overtime with an around-the-world.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBQn7Ym-7DM

That was a sweet win, especially after: (a) Virginia had poached some of our recruits when the season was shut down in 2006; (b) Virginia won a national championship in 2006 without ever having to face Duke (which was ranked #2 in the country when the season was shut down); and (c) Virginia's coach, Dom Starsia, then had the audacity to whine about Duke players getting an extra year of eligibility on the back end to make up for the 2006 debacle.

Loved sticking it to Starsia every chance we had.

[DST Fan]

Over at insidelacrosse.com, Quint Kessenich now has moved UMD and Duke into the #1 and #2 spots in his poll, following Albany’s loss to UMBC. I think UMD is the #1 team at the moment but I have to discount Albany’s loss, given the injuries last week to Connor Fields and Justin Reh.

[burnspbesq]

Duke is up to number three overall in the analyticslacrosse.com rankings; the Blue Devils lead the nation in adjusted defensive efficiency and are tied for sixth in adjusted offensive efficiency. Interestingly, both the man-up and man-down units are in the top ten.

RPI is Duke’s potential Achilles heel in terms of seeding; they are currently sitting at seven, with a 4-2 record against the RPI top 20. They need to win out to be certain of a home game.

[DST Fan]

Duke v. UVA starts at 1:00 and the game is on the ACC network. The weather in Charlottesville is good and there should be a big crowd at Klockner Stadium.

[DST Fan]

Nice start. Duke up 4-1 midway through the first period.

[burnspbesq]

Offenses are clicking. It’s 11-6 at the half.

[burnspbesq]

Bryan Smyth is the hero for Duke. After the Hoos cut a six-goal Duke lead to one late in Q3, he won the draw and took it all the way to score. That triggered a decisive 6-0 run. 18-13 is the final.

Although he didn’t play well overall, Fowler had three big saves early in the fourth quarter.

[75Crazie]

So, if Carolina beats Syracuse, Duke and Syracuse tie for the conference lead at 3-1, right? But I'm assuming Syracuse would be seeded higher in the ACCT due to the head-to-head win?

Doesn't really matter, though ... GTHC trumps all!

[burnspbesq]

So, if Carolina beats Syracuse, Duke and Syracuse tie for the conference lead at 3-1, right? But I'm assuming Syracuse would be seeded higher in the ACCT due to the head-to-head win?

Doesn't really matter, though ... GTHC trumps all!

Yup. Duke is locked into the two seed for the ACC tournament.

[burnspbesq]

Duke is at number five in the selection committee’s initial top ten reveal, which is based on games through last Sunday—and numbers three and four (Hop and Cuse) both lost this week. Augurs well for a home game, as long we keep winning.

[DST Fan]

Bryan Smyth is the hero for Duke. After the Hoos cut a six-goal Duke lead to one late in Q3, he won the draw and took it all the way to score. That triggered a decisive 6-0 run. 18-13 is the final.

Brian Smyth channeled his inner CJ Costabile today . . . twice. Even with the problems in the first half with the three faceoff violations, Smyth went 8-14 and Joe Stein won 13 of 21. UVA appeared to be a decent faceoff team coming into the game and being able to switch up faceoff guys could be be a nice advantage as the season goes on. Between the faceoffs and a 44-33 margin in groundballs, Duke controlled the possession game.

And Justin Guterding continues to have a Tewaaaraton worthy season. He had 5 goals and 4 assists today and scored twice in the 6-0 run that Smyth initiated when UVA pulled within one goal.

[burnspbesq]

Unbelievable. Cuse comes back from a three-goal deficit to beat the Cheaters in OT.

[Indoor66]

Unbelievable. Cuse comes back from a three-goal deficit to beat the Cheaters in OT.

Couldn't happen to a worse group of cheaters.

[DST Fan]

According to laxpower.com, Duke has jumped to number 3 in RPI, behind Albany and UMD.

UNC and ND play the final regular season ACC game next week and, if UNC were to win, three teams would have 1-3 records. I checked the ACC website earlier today but could not find the tiebreaker rules.

[burnspbesq]

According to laxpower.com, Duke has jumped to number 3 in RPI, behind Albany and UMD.

UNC and ND play the final regular season ACC game next week and, if UNC were to win, three teams would have 1-3 records. I checked the ACC website earlier today but could not find the tiebreaker rules.

As I understand it, the team with the fewest goals allowed in conference games gets the three seed, and the head-to-head winner between the other two gets the four seed.

[devildeac]

According to laxpower.com, Duke has jumped to number 3 in RPI, behind Albany and UMD.

UNC and ND play the final regular season ACC game next week and, if UNC were to win, three teams would have 1-3 records. I checked the ACC website earlier today but could not find the tiebreaker rules.

Devildeac rules:

1. When "u"nc is tied with anybody, they GTH.

2. Even if "u"nc is not tied with anybody, they still GTH.

[Indoor66]

Devildeac rules:

1. When "u"nc is tied with anybody, they GTH.

2. Even if "u"nc is not tied with anybody, they still GTH.

Sounds mostly correct, though I would be a lot harder on the cheating family of unwed parents!

[richardjackson199]

Devildeac rules:

1. When "u"nc is tied with anybody, they GTH.

2. Even if "u"nc is not tied with anybody, they still GTH.

Refresh my memory. DBR had a vote for Mt Rushmore of Cheat-hater posters. Who were the winners? Moonpie, Devildeac, Ozzie, and Elvis14? I don't recall.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Devildeac rules:

1. When "u"nc is tied with anybody, they GTH.

2. Even if "u"nc is not tied with anybody, they still GTH.
Yup. Without doubt! GTHc 9F!

[devildeac]

Refresh my memory. DBR had a vote for Mt Rushmore of Cheat-hater posters. Who were the winners? Moonpie, Devildeac, Ozzie, and Elvis14? I don't recall.

Ozzie, throaty, weezie and yours truly. However, there are many, many other qualified to serve. :)

[camion]

Ozzie, throaty, weezie and yours truly. However, there are many, many other qualified to serve. :)

We need a bigger mountain.

[devildeac]

We need a bigger mountain.

8316

Big enough?

(likely not ;))

[Indoor66]

Try this group... then you can fight over which peak is who. :cool:

http://forums.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=8317&stc=1

[duke2x]

According to laxpower.com, Duke has jumped to number 3 in RPI, behind Albany and UMD.

UNC and ND play the final regular season ACC game next week and, if UNC were to win, three teams would have 1-3 records. I checked the ACC website earlier today but could not find the tiebreaker rules.

UNC would have to win by 15 goals to make the tournament with a win. The O/U for a ND lax game should never be more than 12. The likely bracket:

Syracuse @ UVA
Duke v. ND

[BigWayne]

UNC would have to win by 15 goals to make the tournament with a win. The O/U for a ND lax game should never be more than 12. The likely bracket:

Syracuse @ UVA
Duke v. ND

A UNC loss drops their chances of making the NCAA tourney to Slim and None, and sadly Slim is no longer with us.

[DST Fan]

A UNC loss drops their chances of making the NCAA tourney to Slim and None, and sadly Slim is no longer with us.

Correct. With a loss to ND, UNC will finish the season with a 6-8 record and a minimum selection requirement for the NCAA tournament is a .500 record against D-1 teams.

[Ima Facultiwyfe]

Try this group... then you can fight over which peak is who. :cool:

http://forums.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=8317&stc=1

At one point I tried to get the winners to supply me with portraits so that I could photoshop them into the peaks. But, alas, they were as contrary as most crazies and wouldn't cooperate. Bless their stubborn hearts.
Love, Ima

[weezie]

At one point I tried to get the winners to supply me with portraits so that I could photoshop them into the peaks. But, alas, they were as contrary as most crazies and wouldn't cooperate. Bless their stubborn hearts.
Love, Ima

Meh, more like lazy and vain in my case. Which to choose? So many good ones. :cool:

I'm not giving back the honorary sash ever, though. LGD, even when the going gets tough.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

At one point I tried to get the winners to supply me with portraits so that I could photoshop them into the peaks. But, alas, they were as contrary as most crazies and wouldn't cooperate. Bless their stubborn hearts.
Love, Ima


Meh, more like lazy and vain in my case. Which to choose? So many good ones. :cool:

I'm not giving back the honorary sash ever, though. LGD, even when the going gets tough.
And I sent you my pic, or at least was willing to. I think I did. http://crazietalk.net/ourhouse/images/smilies/devil9f.gif It's lonely sometimes at the top! :cool:http://crazietalk.net/ourhouse/images/smilies/devil9f.gif

[Indoor66]

And I sent you my pic, or at least was willing to. I think I did. http://crazietalk.net/ourhouse/images/smilies/devil9f.gif It's lonely sometimes at the top! :cool:http://crazietalk.net/ourhouse/images/smilies/devil9f.gif

A heavy burden. Know that it is only bestowed on those fully capable of carrying it.

[Ima Facultiwyfe]

And I sent you my pic, or at least was willing to. I think I did. http://crazietalk.net/ourhouse/images/smilies/devil9f.gif It's lonely sometimes at the top! :cool:http://crazietalk.net/ourhouse/images/smilies/devil9f.gif

Yep, you did, Oz. You were the onlly one. Guess I should have put you on all four peaks!
Love, Ima

[lmb]

A UNC loss drops their chances of making the NCAA tourney to Slim and None, and sadly Slim is no longer with us.

My high school physics teacher always used to say, "The chances of that happening are slim to none and Slim rode out of town on his horse". Thanks for the memory!

[devildeac]

At one point I tried to get the winners to supply me with portraits so that I could photoshop them into the peaks. But, alas, they were as contrary as most crazies and wouldn't cooperate. Bless their stubborn hearts.
Love, Ima

You should have some photos of me, too, and I'm not talking about those from the post office wearing my full length orange jumpsuit. :p

[BigWayne]

My high school physics teacher always used to say, "The chances of that happening are slim to none and Slim rode out of town on his horse". Thanks for the memory!
Here you go....
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/85/f9/bc/85f9bcfa5b47a8f33e77a141606547ed.jpg

[burnspbesq]

Duke continues to sit at number three in the analyticslacrosse.com rankings and the media poll. The Blue Devils lead the nation in adjusted defensive efficiency, and are top five in adjusted offensive efficiency.

McEwen’s overall rankings, like all PWE-based rankings for lacrosse, are a bit mystifying. Denver, which hasn’t beaten anybody, at number two? Loyola, the only other team besides Duke to be top five at both ends of the field, down at number eight? Colgate ahead of Penn and Bucknell? Whatevs ...

Marquette comes to town on Friday night. This year’s Golden Eagles aren’t as good as the last two seasons, but they can score goals in bunches; they came back from down four with 1:30 to go to force OT against Providence last week. They cannot be taken lightly.

[MCFinARL]

Duke continues to sit at number three in the analyticslacrosse.com rankings and the media poll. The Blue Devils lead the nation in adjusted defensive efficiency, and are top five in adjusted offensive efficiency.

McEwen’s overall rankings, like all PWE-based rankings for lacrosse, are a bit mystifying. Denver, which hasn’t beaten anybody, at number two? Loyola, the only other team besides Duke to be top five at both ends of the field, down at number eight? Colgate ahead of Penn and Bucknell? Whatevs ...

Marquette comes to town on Friday night. This year’s Golden Eagles aren’t as good as the last two seasons, but they can score goals in bunches; they came back from down four with 1:30 to go to force OT against Providence last week. They cannot be taken lightly.

This game should be a good test of where Duke is right now in terms of focus, especially on the defensive end. Despite the high ranking and good results, the eye test says the defense can go briefly AWOL at times, and clearing is an adventure against riding teams. Time to get sharp for the post season.

[burnspbesq]

Duke’s RPI took a hit last night when St. Joseph’s beat Penn, 12-11. The Hawks are red hot, having won eight in a row. If they survive the NEC tournament, they will be a dangerous first-round opponent in the NCAA.

The MLL draft is tonight. The consensus is that Justin Guterding will go to Chesapeake at number four, but everything could change if Boston decides to deal the top pick (aka Trevor Baptiste) to address more of its many problems. Peter Conley may go somewhere around the fourth round. He’d be a good fit in Dallas (formerly Rochester), where he would get plenty of step-down opportunities as opposing defenses slide early to Jordan Wolf.

[SCMatt33]

UNC would have to win by 15 goals to make the tournament with a win. The O/U for a ND lax game should never be more than 12. The likely bracket:

Syracuse @ UVA
Duke v. ND

Just to put a bow on this as I was thouroughly confused, the reason for this is that the first tiebreaker (or I guess second since they'd all be 1-1 vs each other) is total goals against in conference play. UNC has currently given up 14 more goals than ND and 12 fewer than UVA. So a win by 15 or more puts them ahead of ND in that category. This leads to either UNC winning the tiebreaker and getting the three seed, or more unlikely, UVA winning the tiebreaker. Once once team wins the tiebreaker, the other will be determined via H2H, not who came in second in the tiebreaker. So it's also theoretically possible for UNC to win by less than 15 and advance if they were to somehow score 27 goals and hand UVA the three seed. Even if they only won 27-26, UVA would get the tiebreaker and the three seed and UNC advances on H2H over ND.

Here's a pretty good write up from UVA blog Streaking the Lawn (https://www.streakingthelawn.com/2018/4/17/17242880/despite-loss-to-duke-virginia-mens-lacrosse-in-good-position-to-make-acc-tournament-unc-nd-cavaliers) though they don't go as far as talking about the 27 goal scenario. They also include a tweet that this tiebreak procedure was confirmed by the ACC.

[MCFinARL]

Just to put a bow on this as I was thouroughly confused, the reason for this is that the first tiebreaker (or I guess second since they'd all be 1-1 vs each other) is total goals against in conference play. UNC has currently given up 14 more goals than ND and 12 fewer than UVA. So a win by 15 or more puts them ahead of ND in that category. This leads to either UNC winning the tiebreaker and getting the three seed, or more unlikely, UVA winning the tiebreaker. Once once team wins the tiebreaker, the other will be determined via H2H, not who came in second in the tiebreaker. So it's also theoretically possible for UNC to win by less than 15 and advance if they were to somehow score 27 goals and hand UVA the three seed. Even if they only won 27-26, UVA would get the tiebreaker and the three seed and UNC advances on H2H over ND.

Here's a pretty good write up from UVA blog Streaking the Lawn (https://www.streakingthelawn.com/2018/4/17/17242880/despite-loss-to-duke-virginia-mens-lacrosse-in-good-position-to-make-acc-tournament-unc-nd-cavaliers) though they don't go as far as talking about the 27 goal scenario. They also include a tweet that this tiebreak procedure was confirmed by the ACC.

This is SO complicated. If only we could get another team, we could let all six into the tournament with two first round byes.

[SCMatt33]

This is SO complicated. If only we could get another team, we could let all six into the tournament with two first round byes.

I don't think that would make much of a difference. First according to the UVA blog article, they're adding a play-in game next year anyway, but the bigger issue is that a 3-way tie among 5 teams is tough to break, even if it's only for seeding as it will be in the future. Basketball is able to get away with it because there's enough teams where you can use something like record against the top team to break a tie. This would only work for a very specific scenario for lacrosse. If the teams tie at 3-1 or 1-3 and none swept the other, then it's impossible for them to have different records against the remaining two teams. If they all tied at 2-2, it's possible that 1 beat a first placed 3-1 team while the other two beat a 1-3 team, but only in that exact scenario would the basketball situation work. We've seen in football that they go to computer rankings when the ties occur, but they chose to go with something more controllable by the teams here. I'm guessing they went with goals allowed instead of goal differential to disincentivize running up the score in blowouts.

[DST Fan]

This is SO complicated. If only we could get another team, we could let all six into the tournament with two first round byes.

Yes, but the conference is typically very balanced and, with each team playing only a 5-game schedule, isn’t there a good chance that we would have equally complicated tie breakers to determine the byes? However, 6 teams might give the conference an automatic qualifier in the NCAA tournament, but l don’t remember what the rule is on automatic qualifiers.

[chrishoke]

After a lackluster 5-3 lead and half, Duke pours it on in the 2nd to beat Marquette 17-5.

[burnspbesq]

On paper, it looks like an easy win for Duke, 17-5. It was anything but. The Blue Devils led 7-4 with two minutes to go in Q3, then got three in just over a minute and blitzed the Golden Eagles in Q4.

Eight points for Guterding (6G, 2A), and four goals for Robertson. Marquette’s midfield defense was really good, holding Duke’s mids to four goals (Smith 2, Conley, and Seau). Excellent night for Danny Fowler with ten saves and four goals allowed.

Back to C’ville next Friday to take on ND in the ACC tournament semifinals.

[MCFinARL]

Yes, but the conference is typically very balanced and, with each team playing only a 5-game schedule, isn’t there a good chance that we would have equally complicated tie breakers to determine the byes? However, 6 teams might give the conference an automatic qualifier in the NCAA tournament, but l don’t remember what the rule is on automatic qualifiers.

Yes, I think having six teams would give the ACC an automatic qualifier--we had one briefly when ND joined the conference and MD hadn't left yet.

You are probably right that, given the balance, the tiebreakers might be just as complicated with 6 teams as with 5.

[budwom]

I wonder if the ACC would allow another member for lacrosse only? Perhaps it doesn't matter that much, it's workable as it is...

[burnspbesq]

I wonder if the ACC would allow another member for lacrosse only? Perhaps it doesn't matter that much, it's workable as it is...

Utah is as Atlantic-coastal as ND or Louisville. But the real answer is BC, VaTech, and GaTech.

[DST Fan]

Danny Fowler made a couple of point blank saves in the first half last night and he has provided pretty solid goal tending throughout the year. He could be an X factor in the ACC and NCAA tournaments. I don’t recall seeing many goalies who are more aggressive in leaving the cage to go after a loose ball.

[DST Fan]

Utah is as Atlantic-coastal as ND or Louisville. But the real answer is BC, VaTech, and GaTech.

Is there any chance the ACC could poach Loyola? I am not sure that Loyola plays in the Patriot League in any sports other than lacrosse and the school seems to have a history of scheduling ACC teams.

[burnspbesq]

Is there any chance the ACC could poach Loyola? I am not sure that Loyola plays in the Patriot League in any sports other than lacrosse and the school seems to have a history of scheduling ACC teams.

Loyola has been an all-sports-except-football member of the Patriot League since 2013.

[DST Fan]

Loyola has been an all-sports-except-football member of the Patriot League since 2013.

I guess I haven’t been following the Patriot League too closely other than in lacrosse.

[BD80]

Is there any chance the ACC could poach Loyola? ...

So Sister Jean could be at the Conference Championship?

[burnspbesq]

Carolina beats ND, 10-9. The tiebreaker favors ND and UVa. Cheaters’ season is over.

[jimsumner]

So Sister Jean could be at the Conference Championship?

Different Loyola.

[burnspbesq]

Every game involving an ACC team today was a one-goal affair.

Navy beat Cuse 13-12 on a goal by FOGO Joe Varello with 0:00.2 to go.

UVa came from behind to beat UVM, 10-9.

[TKG]

Carolina beats ND, 10-9. The tiebreaker favors ND and UVa. Cheaters’ season is over.

That's a shame.

[BD80]

Every game involving an ACC team today was a one-goal affair.

Navy beat Cuse 13-12 on a goal by FOGO Joe Varello with 0:00.2 to go.

...

The "GO" of FOGO means "get off" doesn't it?

He probably doesn't get many shots on goal ...

[burnspbesq]

Yale and Albany face off at 1:00 Eastern. It’s on ESPN3 and the Watch ESPN app.

Game potentially has significant seeding implications for Duke.

[DST Fan]

Interesting day-- Yale takes down #2 Albany 14-6, although Connor Fields was re-injured and left the game in the first quarter. And then, Ohio State knocks off #1 Maryland 12-10. This will shake up the rankings tomorrow.

[burnspbesq]

Yale was scary good today. Dominant in every aspect of the game.

[burnspbesq]

And the carnage begins on the very first night of conference tournament play: BU closes with a 6-0 run and shocks Bucknell, 12-11, in the Patriot quarterfinals. Bison go from solidly in (thanks to wins over Yale and Loyola) to ... quien sabe?

[DST Fan]

And the carnage begins on the very first night of conference tournament play: BU closes with a 6-0 run and shocks Bucknell, 12-11, in the Patriot quarterfinals. Bison go from solidly in (thanks to wins over Yale and Loyola) to ... quien sabe?

And Duke's final regular season game next week (against BU) may be tougher than anticipated.

[MCFinARL]

And the carnage begins on the very first night of conference tournament play: BU closes with a 6-0 run and shocks Bucknell, 12-11, in the Patriot quarterfinals. Bison go from solidly in (thanks to wins over Yale and Loyola) to ... quien sabe?

This is really an unpredictable year in lacrosse--which makes it fun.

[BigWayne]

Duke leads with 5 All-ACC selections. (http://theacc.com/news/2018/4/26/2018-all-acc-mens-lacrosse-team-announced.aspx)

Justin Guterding
Brad Smith
Cade Van Raaphorst
Joe Stein
Danny Fowler

Also, the Tewaaraton nominee lists were trimmed down to 25 today (https://www.ncaa.com/news/lacrosse-men/article/2018-04-26/tewaaraton-award-25-mens-and-25-womens-2018-nominees), with Justin Guterding making the cut.

[DST Fan]

It looks as though the rain has moved out of Charlottesville and weather should not be a factor tonight. Duke plays the first game at 6:00 and ESPNU will carry it.

Unlike the regular season game, Brendan Gleason and Bryan Costabile are both expected to play, so presumably ND will not be as challenged offensively tonight. If Duke can limit turnovers, I am optimistic about the result. However, I have no idea how the second semifinal will turn out.

[budwom]

And Duke's final regular season game next week (against BU) may be tougher than anticipated.

Duke will beat them like a drum (probably):)

[WiJoe]

I don't like to get too far ahead. Chronicle reports Coach D said practice this week has been awful. The thought of losing to the Domers is not pleasing.

[budwom]

I don't like to get too far ahead. Chronicle reports Coach D said practice this week has been awful. The thought of losing to the Domers is not pleasing.

Last time we played them the game was distressingly close when you consider how little offense ND possessed.

[Bob Green]

Notre Dame quickly takes a 2-0 lead. Duke needs to wake up!

[Bob Green]

End of 1Q: Notre Dame 2, Duke 1. This is a physical game.

[chrishoke]

4-1 ND. We are sleep walking. You play like you practice.

[chrishoke]

Every damn ground b all. This is an embarrassing effort.

[chrishoke]

5-1.

[WiJoe]

Duke brutally bad. It should be embarrassed. So predictable domers would be much better than first time around.

[chrishoke]

6-3 on a face break tic tac toe goal. Showin g some life

[chrishoke]

6-4 on another fast break goal right before half.

[Bob Green]

Duke came alive late to make it a ball game. Hopefully the positive energy carries over to the 2nd half.

[Bob Green]

Duke ties it up at 7 apiece.

[chrishoke]

5-1 run for the good guys.

[DangerDevil]

It would have been nice if the 3rd quarter was 1 second shorter. 8-7 ND at the end of the 3rd.

[Bob Green]

Duke takes the lead for the first time tonight. Duke 10 - 9.

[chrishoke]

Ned Crotty sighting on the sideline.

[chrishoke]

13-10 ND. Going home.

[chrishoke]

14-11 final.

[DST Fan]

After playing a very mediocre first 28 minutes, I thought Duke showed some character to come back and take the lead in the 4th quarter. However, the team had just a few too many turnovers, failed clears and empty EMOs to pull it out. Not being able to score when ND was down 2 men, and then giving up the goal with a second left in the third quarter was not good. ND seemed to control play against the Duke defense and ND out-shooting Duke 38-30 was a shocker.

[DST Fan]

It looks as though the rain has moved out of Charlottesville and weather should not be a factor tonight.

I was surprised how poor the field condition was at Klöckner tonight. I have watched games played in storms with less slipping.