After months of preparation, the 2005 men’s lacrosse season has finally arrived.
Although it might be excessive to announce that hope has sprung eternal among the No. 13 Blue Devils, the excitement surrounding Saturday’s 1 p.m. home opener against Butler at Koskinen Stadium is undeniable.
“We’ve been battling with each other day in and day out,” junior Matt Zash said of the Blue Devils’ six-month training season. “It’s nice to finally start hitting a different jersey.”
For some players, the wait has been even longer. Senior Bill Gerrish has been sidelined ever since the second game of 2004, during which he suffered a season-ending knee injury.
But all of the disappointment of last year has been washed away, and the captain looks forward to the defensive squad he will lead starting Saturday.
“It’s very, very rewarding to know that nine months of rehab paid off,” Gerrish said. “When I’m on the field I feel awesome. Our defense couldn’t be any better. We have a solid unit of guys—very deep, a lot of numbers. We’re going to be very strong defensively.”
For Duke’s freshmen, the wait has been almost intolerable. Highly touted attackman Zack Greer has exhibited no signs of pre-game jitters however—the Ontario native was completely focused on Saturday’s contest against Butler.
“We hear they play a lot of zone defense,” Greer said. “We don’t think they can match up with our offensive guys and our middies, so we’re going to try to play a fast game, run it by them and hold them on the defensive end.”
Greer will be joined on the Blue Devil front line by junior Dan Flannery and sophomore Matt Danowski, who emphasized the need for offensive focus Saturday afternoon.
“Offensively we just have to put the ball in the cage,” Danowski, the preseason third-team All-American said. “We’ve done a good job this preseason offensively, but we’re hitting pipes, hitting the goalie in the chest and taking bad shots. If we shoot smarter this Saturday, we’ll have goals in the high teens and our defense should be able to hold.”
The last time Duke played Butler was in a 2004 preseason scrimmage. In that matchup, the Blue Devils easily manhandled the Bulldogs, but a lot has changed since then.
“You can’t compare them, because they have a brand new coach at Butler, Stan Ross,” Duke head coach Mike Pressler said. “It’s a whole new system, a whole new program. He’s cleaning house and doing things his way. I think they’re going to be a very strong program in the future.”
To some Blue Devils, all the unknowns surrounding the Bulldogs are downright scary.
“We don’t really know what to expect with a new coach and a lot of new players,” Gerrish said. “We’re focusing more on us and on our game plan, as opposed to what they’re going to bring.”
The key component of the Duke strategy will be to play a fast-paced game and force the inexperienced Bulldogs into making mistakes.
“I think pressure is the key word for us, Pressler said. “We want to make it a 110-yard game. They’re going to want to make it a half-field game at a slower tempo, we certainly want to make it an up-tempo game.”
Butler should pose little threat for the Blue Devils, provided they maintain their focus.
“We can’t beat ourselves,” Zash said. “We’ve been known in the past to look past some teams—this year we’re looking to get a ‘W’ every week.”
So is this team ready for the 2005 season? These first few games will go a long way to answer that question.
“Guys have been working their tails off in the preseason,” Pressler said. “With each scrimmage we’ve improved. I wouldn’t say we’re a great lacrosse team yet, but we’re getting better.”
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