Sixth-ranked Duke (7-1) extended its winning streak to seven and tied the team record for best start since 1986 by dismantling No. 17 Harvard (3-2), 18-6, Saturday afternoon at Duke Lacrosse Stadium. The Blue Devils scored eight goals in the second quarter to take the lead and pull away from the overmatched Crimson.
Taking a page from Georgetown-who held Duke to just eight goals last week-Harvard opened the game playing a zone defense. The Blue Devils have struggled against the zone, and the loss of sophomore Nick Hartofilis (out 2-3 weeks with a broken finger) has hampered their outside shooting.
"Anyone who scouted us against Georgetown will play a zone against us," senior attackman John Fay said. "We struggled last week against the zone, but we worked on it a lot during practice. We added a few new plays to go against it and they worked well."
Although Duke had practiced against the zone all week, it had never seen the defense used by Harvard. During the first quarter the Blue Devils struggled, mustering just one goal, and they trailed 2-1 at the end of the period.
In the second, however, six different Blue Devils netted shots past goalkeeper Keith Cynar. The final five goals of the scoring barrage came in a span of just over four minutes as Duke took a 9-3 halftime lead. The Blue Devils controlled the ball for almost the entire quarter, limiting the Crimson to just a few minutes of possession.
"Our zone offense had a very good week of practice, and after the first quarter it really showed," Duke coach Mike Pressler said. "If you're playing a team that plays zone and you get the lead you can sit on the ball a bit. It's great to have when you play against a zone, and that was crucial for us today."
Once down, Harvard was forced to abandon the zone and it changed goalies, but Duke's scoring did not stop. In the second half, things only got worse for the Crimson, as it was once again outscored, 9-3.
Fay led all scorers with six points on four goals and two assists. His final goal, which came with just two minutes left in the contest, moved him into a tie for third all-time at Duke in career goals with 129. He needs 28 more goals this season to break the record.
With the exception of saves, the Blue Devils dominated every statistical category. They outshot Harvard, 49-34, won more faceoffs, collected more ground balls and were more efficient clearing the ball. Both coaches felt that Duke's depth advantage was the key to the game.
"We played a bunch more players than Harvard did," Pressler said. "That kept the transition game on them, kept the defensive pressure on them and we just thought eventually they would just run out of gas."
Defensively, the Blue Devils were solid as they held their opponent to single-digit scoring for the seventh time this season. Senior Craig Seyffer recorded 15 saves between the pipes and made several important stops in the first quarter to keep Duke within one.
Sophomore Steve Card, who is enjoying an outstanding season as a first-year starter, had the task of guarding senior Mike Ferrucci, one of the nation's premier attackmen. Ferrucci, bothered with injuries to his shoulder and ACL, struggled and managed just one goal.
"Mike Ferrucci is a blue-chip attackman," Pressler said. "There are none better than Mike Ferrucci. But one thing about Mike is that he's playing hurt.... He's half the player he was two years ago, and you could see that today."
Duke will next take its winning streak to Massachusetts, where it will challenge No. 8 UMass on Saturday. After playing the Minutemen, the Blue Devils will spend the next two weekends in Virginia to face the fifth-ranked Cavaliers and then to play in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.
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