With two minutes remaining in the third period, Penn State attackman Gil Pearsall ripped a wide-open shot past Blue Devil goalie Aaron Fenton. The goal sent the Nittany Lion fans into a frenzy and elicited raucous cheers of “We are Penn State” from the couple dozen fans who made the trip.
The celebration only inspired giggles from the Duke faithful—the goal was Penn State’s first of the game, and Duke still held a comfortable 9-1 advantage.
Although the goal spoiled Fenton’s shutout, it did little to inspire a Nittany Lion comeback. The No. 4 men’s lacrosse team (5-0) cruised to a dominating 12-2 victory over No. 17 Penn State (2-2) Tuesday afternoon at the turf field behind Koskinen Stadium.
The win will garner even more national attention for the Blue Devils, who shot up nine spots to No. 4 in the USILA poll after upsetting then-No. 5 Maryland 10-8 last weekend.
“This could be the best regular-season week in Duke history,” head coach Mike Pressler said. “We’ve never scheduled Maryland, Penn State and Loyola—three games of that caliber—all in one week.”
The Blue Devils jumped out to an 8-0 halftime lead with a superlative defensive effort. Duke aggressively attacked the Penn State offense, forcing numerous turnovers and preventing the Nittany Lions from getting good shot attempts.
“The defense was terrific today from start to finish,” Pressler said. “I was so proud of my guys. I challenged them to step up here against a very good Penn State team and put the Maryland game behind us, and we did it. Even though we don’t have a lot of seniors out there, they played like veterans. They took Penn State out of the game right out of the box.”
The Blue Devils’ defensive persistence was particularly noticeable in their man-down defense—Penn State only scored one goal in seven extra-man opportunities.
“In my two years here, this was the cleanest defense we’ve ever played,” said sophomore Casey Carroll, who along with freshman Zack Greer lead the team with four ground balls apiece. “We made the fewest mistakes and, for the most part, we were able to get the ball up-and-out on our first opportunities.”
Fenton stopped 9-of-10 shots but wasn’t terribly distressed with the one that got through.
“You got to give them one—it’ll be something for them to think about on the long bus ride home,” Fenton said. “Our defense was unbelievable. It’s a true test to play two games in a row and step it up in the biggest game in the year. We made a statement, and it just feels really good. They made my job really easy.”
Once again, Greer propelled the offense. The freshman, who finished the day with five goals, leads the nation with 21 on the season.
Duke established its offense right from the opening faceoff. The Blue Devils started the game with a lengthy three-and-a-half minute possession, during which the Duke offense took several shots and scooped up three ground balls. The relentless attack culminated only after sophomore Matt Danowski blew past his defender and converted a close-range shot from the right side of the field.
“We got it going early,” Pressler said. “I thought the attack did a good job on the ride, and we never let them back in it. That was the key for us.”
Although a let-down would be a natural reaction for a team coming off the victory in College Park, Md., Pressler had been stressing the importance of this game long before Duke surprised the Terrapins.
“Coach put a star next to this game at the beginning of the season and called it our ‘trap game,’” sophomore Dan Oppedisano said of Tuesday’s matchup. “It was the game we had to win.”
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