In the men's lacrosse home opener last night, the Virginia Military Institute scored the first goal of the season at Koskinen Stadium. The Blue Devils responded to this home invasion with ferocity, tearing off a 14-goal run that lasted 30 minutes and put the game out of reach for the visiting Keydets, who lost the contest 17-5.
Starting two minutes into the first quarter and ending two minutes into the third, Duke's scoring flurry was facilitated by its ball control. Duke's tight man-to-man defense along with VMI's mental errors and penalties held the Keydets scoreless for half the game.
The game's opening tally was scored by VMI attackman Leo McInerney, who put it between the pipes only 99 seconds into the game. McInerney had two goals in the contest to lead the Keydets.
"Leo deserves special congratulations," VMI head coach Doug Bartlett said. "He kept going and going. He took on their best and scored against their best. I need more Leos."
The Duke response came quickly. Only 17 seconds later, Matt Monfett's unassisted scoring effort was the beginning of the Blue Devil deluge. The sophomore led Duke with four goals and added an assist.
The rest of the first quarter was an exhibition put on by Duke head coach Mike Pressler's
Matt Rewkowski tallied three goals and an assist in the first quarter. Monfett and attackman Dan Flannery also added two goals each in the first quarter, while junior midfielder Ben Fenton scored his lone goal of the game despite a vicious slash by a VMI defender.
"I think that first quarter was evidence that we need to improve our team speed," Bartlett said. "Duke is very fast and they move the ball very well, and our speed was a liability."
The speed of the game downshifted in the second quarter. Duke's frenetic offense scored only three times in the period, but the stingy Blue Devil defense still refused to allow a goal.
The most spectacular defensive play of the period came when Brennan picked the pocket of a streaking VMI middie, setting up a commanding Duke power play. The Blue Devils' advantage was squandered when VMI goalkeeper Brian Ward made an acrobatic save on a blistering shot by Duke midfielder Kevin Cassese.
Monfett added his third goal of the game in the second quarter, and Flannery had two assists to bring his game total to four. At the close of the quarter, Brennan scored, assisted by Monfett. Nine seconds later, senior attacker Mack Hardaker scored to bring the Duke lead to 12. The Blue Devils entered halftime ahead, 13-1.
"I think we played well moving the ball on offense, on defense, and in the goal," Brennan said. "But we really have to work on sticking with the game plan."
The third quarter began with a narrowly missed shot by Cassese, followed shortly by Monfett's fourth and final goal of the contest.
The Keydets found their game not long afterward, with McInerney and Will Collier each scoring to bring the Keydets within 11 points. Collier's goal was a textbook shot, a lefthanded dump over charging Duke goaltender A.J. Kincel.
An 11-point margin was as close as VMI would find itself, as junior midfielders Matt Mueller, Dan Doty and sophomore attacker Joe Kennedy each scored to bring Duke's lead to 17-3, before two VMI goals in the fourth period brought the game to its final score.
"We were hoping to get on a roll and we did," Brennan said. "This experience should help us later in the season, against teams where it may be a tighter game."
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