Lacrosse: The 2020 Season

[75Crazie]

Why do I never learn? Midway through the first quarter, I was wondering just how bad Duke was going to blow them out … Air Force just looked pathetic. Since then, they have pretty much dominated the game, with big kudos to their goalkeeper. It's not quite over yet, but I just don't see Duke coming back here.

[chrishoke]

Going to be a long year.

[chrishoke]

Air Force 14-13 final.

[Bob Green]

Frustrating to lose a game we led 5 - 0 early.

Final: AF 14, Duke 13

[budwom]

Kessenich was right, we don't seem to have the guys to beat their man one on one...especially now that Robertson is injured (long term injury evidently).

[Tooold]

AF goalie came up with a bunch of good saves (or maybe our shots just weren’t that great.). It seemed reversed at the other end. We dominated face offs, but just couldn’t score, especially Q4.

Without a “go-to” guy who can score, it could be a long year.

[Native]

I ain’t worried. A loss in February is table stakes for a Danowski-coached team. Let’s win in May.

[DST Fan]

Can't figure out why Montgomery is being passive.

I would have to go back and look more closely at a replay to be sure, but it seemed to me that he was not taking a regular turn with either midfield group. Without Joe Robertson on the field and with Nakeie providing no scoring, the offense had two large holes.

[mpbreg]

While Dino is indeed known for early season losses that end up not meaning anything, that performance was extremely concerning. Contrast that with the performance of Carolina today which was otherworldly.

Severity of Robertson injury is even more concerning.

Could be an off year for Duke Lacrosse.

[buddy]

The Robertson injury does not explain how AF got at least 4 door step goals. It doesn't explain missed passes and inability to hold onto the ball when checked. It doesn't explain winning a face off and throwing the ball 10 feet over everyone's head out-of-bounds. We dominated at the X but after the first few minutes could not convert. There was enough talent on the field to win, but not enough concentration. It would be nice to blame sloppy play on youth, but several veterans (Harris, Montgomery, Smyth) had less than stellar performances.

[Tooold]

Quinn said “Duke might be the 5th best team in the ACC this year”. Of course, he was referring to the strength of the ACC, but still...

[duke2x]

Even for an early season game that wasn't pretty. There's a lot for the coaching staff to examine this weekend before the trip to High Point.

I would not take too much stock in UNC blowing out Colgate. Air Force is usually a top 30 team. It's not a good loss (but was deserved). Colgate is not close to that level.

[DST Fan]

The Robertson injury does not explain how AF got at least 4 door step goals. It doesn't explain missed passes and inability to hold onto the ball when checked. It doesn't explain winning a face off and throwing the ball 10 feet over everyone's head out-of-bounds. We dominated at the X but after the first few minutes could not convert. There was enough talent on the field to win, but not enough concentration. It would be nice to blame sloppy play on youth, but several veterans (Harris, Montgomery, Smyth) had less than stellar performances.

I agree that the defense looked lost a number of times. In addition, we only had 4 caused turnovers. There are a lot of new faces on the defense and hopefully the unit will be able to develop quickly.

Even for an early February game, the turnovers were concerning—6 in the fourth quarter and 17 for the game. Yet somehow we were a perfect 17 for 17 on clear attempts. I suspect Turner Uppgren deserves some credit for the clearing game.

In the end, we failed to capitalize on a huge advantage in possessions. We won 21 of 30 face offs and had a 36-17 ground ball advantage and frittered away a lead. Nonetheless, I am optimistic that this team will improve significantly by April.

[DST Fan]

I agree that the defense looked lost a number of times. In addition, we only had 4 caused turnovers. There are a lot of new faces on the defense and hopefully the unit will be able to develop quickly.

Even for an early February game, the turnovers were concerning—6 in the fourth quarter and 17 for the game. Yet somehow we were a perfect 17 for 17 on clear attempts. I suspect Turner Uppgren deserves some credit for the clearing game.

In the end, we failed to capitalize on a huge advantage in possessions. We won 21 of 30 face offs and had a 36-17 ground ball advantage and frittered away a lead. Nonetheless, I am optimistic that this team will improve significantly by April.

I see Duke had 6 caused turnovers. I mistakenly looked at the Air Force stats.

[burnspbesq]

Duke has lost three one-goal games in the last four meetings with Air Force (the other was an 18-4 win). The Falcons are disciplined and tough, which is a difficult combination on Opening Day. Their shooting percentage and OE were off the charts.

Important to tighten things up off ball before next Saturday. J.T. Is fully capable of locking down Nolting, but the rest of the defense has to learn quickly.

[fuse]

Duke has lost three one-goal games in the last four meetings with Air Force (the other was an 18-4 win). The Falcons are disciplined and tough, which is a difficult combination on Opening Day. Their shooting percentage and OE were off the charts.

Important to tighten things up off ball before next Saturday. J.T. Is fully capable of locking down Nolting, but the rest of the defense has to learn quickly.

Agree we need stronger defense.
At least as critical is seeing an effective Nakie Montgomery on the field.

[budwom]

Outside of the outstanding Giles-Harris, we lost just about everyone on defense from last year, so I'm not surprised we made a lot of mistakes. Dano's teams do tend to improve as the season goes on, but I think we're lacking the big time offensive talent this season to make the FF. Good thing he's assembling some yooge incoming classes...

[devilirium]

I ain’t worried. A loss in February is table stakes for a Danowski-coached team. Let’s win in May.

I agree. It seemed like we played 30 players on offense this game. With the game growing though, the High Points of the world are a lot better. Why Montgomery didn't just take over (the few times that he did), I'll never know.

[53n206]

Air Force’s goalie is...quite good.

He was outstanding in the last 3 quarters. Won the game for AF.

[fuse]

https://www.insidelacrosse.com/amp/d...mpression=true

Sigh.