Men's lacrosse shows off new look in quest for Final Four

The foundation of every Mike Pressler lacrosse team has always been a big, bruising defense. Bone-crushing, as the 10th-year coach likes to say.

But with the departure of two starting defenders and the return of his entire front line, Pressler finds himself in unfamiliar territory. For the first time in his coaching career, the offense is clearly the star of the show.

"It's certainly the best attack unit we've ever had," Pressler said. "People are going to focus on our attack. Not only is it my opinion, but a lot of coaches' opinions are that this is the premiere unit in the nation."

The fifth-ranked Blue Devils bring back their top four goal scorers from last year's squad, including the entire attack line of junior Greg Patchak and All-Americans Jared Frood and T.J. Durnan. Last year, the trio combined for 105 goals.

"We've had great attackmen in the past, but we've never had three of them of that caliber.... They can overpower. All three of them are over 210 [pounds]. The thing about it is that as strong and powerful as they are, they are tremendously skilled."

The grueling 9-8 games might be a thing of the past, yet it's still hard to imagine Pressler endorsing shootouts. But he's upped the ante by moving the teams fourth and fifth attackmen, Alex Lieske and Chris Kakel, into the midfield. The result should be a new type of Duke offense, explosive and potentially deadly.

"I think this year on offense, we have to let them go a little bit," Pressler said. "We have to be more aggressive offensively than we've ever been."

But for all their confidence up front, the Blue Devils face an unusually high number of questions in the backfield.

"It's very comforting to have him back there," Pressler said. "He's an outstanding stopper, but he's so good at the clear. He ignites our offense from the defensive end, which I think separates him from the other goaltenders. When Matt catches the ball, we are a threat to score at any moment."

Right in front of Breslin is Card, who will draw the assignment of guarding the opponent's top threat. While Pressler will likely use a lot of slides with his other two defenders, Pressler will leave Card with a man-to-man assignment, and expect the other guy to be stifled.

Card, like a lot of seniors on this year's team, has dedicated himself in the offseason. This year's seniors began their careers on a Final Four team, but the past two seasons have suffered disappointing losses in the national quarterfinals. This year, the seniors hope to bring their careers full circle-back to the Final Four, and finally playing on Monday.

But Card & Co. have a long ways to go to replace the Class of '99, which included 13 players. Last year's seniors made up the winningest class in program history, but Pressler believes he has the talent to make a run for the national title.

"A coach many years ago told me if you want to compete for the national championship, you have to have a first-team All-American caliber player at each position," Pressler said. "For my first time at Duke, we've got a first teamer right down the middle of the field.... Rebuilding is no longer an issue for us, we reload."

And Pressler believes his new-look team will boast an offense that flows more efficiently than in the past.

Just don't mistake flow for finesse. A Mike Pressler team will always feature size and strength. This year, though, the strength is where you least expect to find it.