The men’s lacrosse team made history in most impressive fashion Tuesday. In defeating Mount St. Mary’s 21-5, No. 2 Duke became the first men’s lacrosse team in school history to start a season with 10 straight wins.
“It was just a great day for Duke lacrosse,” head coach Mike Pressler said. “We are very excited to be 10-0.”
Duke had also never reeled off ten straight at any point in a season. In 1999, the team started the season with nine wins, and eventually reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament.
Pressler has continually stressed that a major team goal is to start games off quickly. He believes that opening up early leads is key for Duke this season.
The Blue Devils did just that against the Mounts (3-3), beginning the game with 13 straight goals on their way to a 15-1 halftime lead. Despite the huge advantage, the team was a little disappointed that the one Mount St. Mary’s goal squirted through.
“I guess you got to give them one,” said goalie Aaron Fenton, who credited the Blue Devil defense for preventing the Mounts from taking any shots in the first quarter.
Pressler set a target of 12 total goals per game earlier in the season, but even with all their success, the Blue Devils surpassed the 12-goal mark just once prior to Tuesday’s contest. Duke netted its 12th goal with more than nine minutes left in the first half against Mount St. Mary’s.
“It seemed like we couldn’t get past 12 goals versus [any] teams this year,” Duke sophomore attackman Matt Danowski said. “We knew he [the Mounts’ goalie] was weak high, we just shot the ball really well and unselfishly.”
Danowski paced the Duke offense with four goals and two assists. Thirteen different Blue Devils registered a goal, a season-high.
“It’s the story of our game all year,” Pressler said. “We have been such a team offensively. We don’t rely on one player and have one of the best passing teams I have had at Duke.”
Duke’s early lead allowed many of the starters to take the second half off.
“Our goal as a first team was to get those guys in as soon as possible,” Fenton said.
Another of Pressler’s season-long goals is for the team to secure more than 50 percent of faceoffs. Tuesday, the Blue Devils did just that by winning 16-of-30.
“I’m not going to jump to any conclusions yet,” Pressler said. “The faceoff is a very fickle thing, it can come and go depending on the matchup.”
Mount St. Mary’s finally got rolling a little bit after halftime. The Mounts scored the first two second-half goals before Blue Devil attackman Zach Greer stopped the minor comeback with his third and final score.
Pressler believes his team’s concentration day in and day out are extremely important in avoiding any let-downs this season. The team will put its highest ranking of the season on the line at home against Ohio State Saturday at 1 p.m.
“We will take 10-0 and move on to Ohio State,” Pressler said. “[They] really took it to us out there in Columbus a year ago. Our guys will be highly motivated for the next one.”
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