Need an adjective to describe the Duke lacrosse team this weekend? Try "dominating."
The Blue Devils opened their 1993 campaign Saturday with an 18-4 win over Stony Brook, then followed it up yesterday with a 16-2 shellacking of Mount St. Mary's. Not even the 14-goal margins of victory do justice to the thoroughness with which Duke controlled the two games.
"Our defense is terrific," Duke head coach Mike Pressler said following Sunday's game. "Those are two big wins for us, and anytime you give up six goals in two games, you've gotta be excited about that."
In Saturday's contest, the boys in blue put on a spectacular offensive show, lighting up a feeble Patriot defense almost at will. The balanced attack spread the scoring through the entire team, with eight different players finding the back of the net.
From the midfield position, sophmore Matt Ogelsby, junior Blake Holden and senior co-captain Jim Mannino each tallied two goals, while junior Mike Clayton and sophmore Ross Moscatelli each tossed in one.
Sophmore Scott Harrison and senior Seth McCullock led the way for the attackmen, each rifling three shots passed a bewildered Stony Brook goalie, and junior Ken Fasanaro and sophmore Bob Carpenter added another two apiece.
The assists were equally well distributed, as nine Duke players had displayed their generosity by the time the final horn sounded. Four different players-Moscatelli, Harrison, McCulloch, and Carpenter-each dished out two assists.
Manino, Holden, Ogelsby, and juniors Mike Clayton and Bo Mahoney were nearly as impressive with one apiece. There were a few dropped passes, and a few missed shots, but no more than what would be expected in the season's opening game.
The defense was almost unflappable throughout the game's 60 minutes. A solid effort by Duke's defenseman allowed only 14 Stony Brook shots, while senior goalkeeper Carter Hertzberg allowed just four of those to slip past him.
Herzberg recorded 19 saves and even got into the action with a leveling check on an unsuspecting Stony Brook attackman that sent him to the ground and drew "oohs" and "aahs" from the sidelines. Though not often tested, the Blue Devil defense held strong when needed.
The same was true of Sunday's matchup with Mount St. Mary's. Again, the Blue Devils defense held its opponent to under 20 shots, this time allowing 19. Duke scooped up 57 ground balls, to Mount's 22.
Senior Matt Breuer got the start in goal and made 13 saves, including three that shut down Mount fast breaks and one when the Blue Devils were a man down. It was a defensive showcase even more dominating than the day before.
The offense showed flashes of greatness as well in tallying its 16 goals. Ogelsby was again outstanding, scoring four times, three of them without any help from any teammates. McCullock also tallied four goals, adding three assists to go along with them.
Harrison and Clayton continued their scoring with two goals each. Moscatelli, Manino, Holden and freshman Vinnie Hannigan completed the offensive onslaught, each with one tally. But there were still signs of early-season woes.
"We didn't handle the ball well, and our skills weren't there," Pressler said of his offense. "But our guys played hard, and I can sleep well at night knowing that."
Odds are, he won't be sleeping for long, however, as next weekend the Blue Devils face Atlantic Coast Conference rival Maryland in College Park. Last year, the Terrapins defeated Duke three times, including an overtime win in Durham and a narrow victory in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
This year, the Terps entered the season ranked seventh in the national polls. It's a game the Blue Devils have been focusing on since last spring.
"[Maryland] is our first conference game, and the biggest game of the year for us," said Pressler. "We're putting everything, our heart and soul and all our preparation, into beating Maryland at Maryland. I've got a feeling we're gonna go in there and beat the Terps. Our guys want to beat them real bad."
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