It is just two games into the season and the Blue Devils are picking up just where they left off last season.
The men's lacrosse team used a seven-goal third quarter to ease past Villanova (1-1), 13-2, Saturday at Koskinen Stadium.
"Two games in a row, the defense has been there, which has been impressive to me," head coach Mike Pressler said. "The offense we always knew would be there. We're kind of putting it together to becoming a very good lacrosse team."
Dan Flannery scored the game's first goal less than five minutes into action, and Brad Ross and Matt Danowski added two more scores to give the Blue Devils (2-0) an early 3-0 lead.
Villanova got on the board late in the first period, and Zack Greer put Duke back ahead by three, scoring the only goal of the second quarter with 4:07 remaining, giving Duke a 4-1 halftime lead.
"I thought we got off to a great start," Pressler said. "We picked it up in the third quarter and put 'Nova away. We've got to maintain the same level of intensity from the first whistle to the last."
After the break, the team came out on fire. Greer netted back-to-back goals to start a seven-goal period, and Kyle Dowd also added two goals during the spurt.
Danowski, who finished the game with two goals, found Greer with five seconds left in the third period for his fourth and final score of the contest.
"All three attackmen played well," Pressler said. "It was unfortunate that I think we hit six pipes in the game. Those guys had great opportunities and just didn't finish as well as we had hoped. It wasn't a lack of effort."
The Blue Devils outshot Villanova 45-26 in the game-17 of which came in the third quarter-and Wildcat goalie Joe Caruso, whom Pressler called one of the nation's best, made 18 saves.
Dan Loftus, who is trying to fill the void in goal made by the graduation of All-American Aaron Fenton, played a stellar game, Pressler said.
The junior played 56 minutes and only allowed one goal, while making 10 saves. The veteran defensive unit in front of him also played well, limiting the Wildcats scoring opportunities and forcing them to take difficult shots.
"Danny has had two terrific starts," Pressler said. "He was certainly on his game against Butler and he didn't miss a beat against Villanova. He cleared the ball very well."
The victory gave Pressler his 225th win as coach of the Blue Devils. It is his 16th year at the helm at Duke.
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