CHAPEL HILL—A week after an ugly 19-7 defeat to then-No. 1 Syracuse, Duke head coach John Danowski made the call to infuse even more youth into the Blue Devil lineup, starting redshirt freshman Danny Fowler between the pipes against North Carolina in place of incumbent goalkeeper Luke Aaron.
“I don’t know if you saw the game against Syracuse,” Danowski said. “But we got hammered pretty well. [Aaron] gave up 16 goals with just four saves. That’s tough.”
The Orange managed to knock Aaron out of the game after three quarters, with a blistering 23 shots attempted in the first period en route to a 13-1 halftime lead. Fowler came in to close out the game, giving up three and saving one.
“We had nothing to lose by starting Danny,” Danowski said. “And I certainly thought he held up his end of the bargain.”
Entering Sunday’s game, Fowler had played in seven of nine games with just 74 minutes logged in relief of Aaron. The 2013 Under Armour All-American—owner of just 14 career saves before playing the Tar Heels—nearly doubled his collegiate total by stopping 13 shots against the relentless North Carolina offense in front of the largest crowd at Fetzer Field since 1983.
“I was very excited to play,” Fowler said. ”This was my first start ever and for it to be in the Duke-North Carolina game was very cool. We didn’t get the result we wanted but we’re just moving on for next week against Notre Dame.”
The Wantagh, N.Y., native had a strong showing in the first half of his debut, allowing just five goals to nine saves. Both teams were even offensively early, as the Blue Devils’ Jack Rowe and the Tar Heels’ Stephen Kelly entered halftime with seven faceoff victories apiece, and the Tar Heels managing a slight lead in ground balls 22-20 and shots attempted 22-18.
After the break however, the Duke defense wore down due to Kelly’s dominance at the faceoff X, as he won 15-of-19 for the remainder of the game. The extra Tar Heel possessions led to defensive errors and resulted in two five-goal periods with just four saves for Fowler.
“It’s always good to make a few saves early on,” Fowler said. “Looking back you wish you could grab one or two more, especially in a one-goal game but our defense was keeping them in good spots. We had a good defensive plan coming in.”
Fowler saved his best for last as his biggest save of the day came with Duke down 15-14 with less than two minutes remaining. The Blue Devils desperately needed the ball back when North Carolina star attackman Jimmy Bitter ripped a shot on goal. Fowler deflected it right into defenseman Brian Dailey’s vicinity and gave the team one last shot at victory. Although Duke failed to capitalize, it was a valiant effort for the first time starter.
Following the game, Danowski was still unsure as to who will be the starting goalkeeper for Duke's upcoming matchup with top-ranked Notre Dame.
“We’ll look at the tape," Danowski said. "We play the No. 1 team in the country next week. That’s not going to be easy, but it’ll be at home and it’ll be exciting.”
The nine-year Duke head coach added that the defensive unit’s youth did not end with Fowler.
“When you give up 15 goals, it’s not exactly a great day defensively,” Danowski said. “But hey, today, if you noticed, we started Brian Dailey down low. It’s his first time there all year. Ethan Powley is a sophomore, Brian Dunne is a sophomore. Peter Welch is out there as a freshman. Danny Fowler is a redshirt freshman. There’s not a lot of experience and not a lot of guys you can look to to tell you that it’s going to be okay. They’re all learning together but I thought it was much better than last week.”
With a two-game homestand for Duke coming up, the defensive unit will have the chance to step up and defend Koskinen Stadium against Notre Dame and Virginia—two highly talented offenses loaded with star power.
The hopes of another title run will go only as far as the young squad’s ability to close out tight games. That all begins with the man in goal and his crew of six defenders.
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