When Duke and Loyola last met at Koskinen Stadium, it was the start of a 20-game home winning streak for the Blue Devils. When the two teams meet again this weekend, this Duke squad will have a chance to make history.
The No. 5 Blue Devils are set to face off against the No. 14 Greyhounds at Koskinen Stadium Saturday at 1 p.m. in one of the most anticipated matchups of the season, as both teams have shared the National Title the past four years. If Duke manages to pull off a victory, it will set the lacrosse school record for consecutive home wins. Beating Loyola, however, will be no easy task.
While on paper the Greyhounds (3-2) seem to have gotten off to a slow start and have seen their ranking fall from seven to 14, their record does not quite do this team justice.
“If you really look closely at their schedule, they’re only two goals away from being 5-0,” head coach John Danowski said. “They could easily be 5-0 and be one of the top three or four teams in the country. Offensively, they’re extremely explosive. They can score from anywhere. Their first midfield is as good as anybody’s.…They’re an extremely intimidating opponent and we know they’re much better than their record shows.”
Loyola’s strong offense is led by junior Zach Herreweyers, who is second in the nation in goals scored, behind the Blue Devils' own Justin Guterding. Keeping Herreweyers in check will be key for Duke to secure a victory.
“He’s a classic Canadian finisher,” Danowski said. “When he gets the ball in his stick, it’s in and out of his stick. He’s hard to defend because he can score goals in many ways. His teammates are looking for him in transition, in extra man, off the face-off. You have to be really aware of where he is on the field and close out quickly, because when the ball’s in his stick, it’s not in there for long.”
The Greyhounds head into Saturday’s matchup after a narrow 11-8 victory against Lehigh last Saturday, but will come to Durham looking to prove themselves after sustaining two heartbreaking losses by a mere goal, losing 13-12 to both Virginia and Holy Cross.
The Blue Devils (5-1), on the other hand, come into Saturday’s game coming off of two impressive 20-goal performances over the previous weekend, getting their first victory against a ranked opponent by defeating then-No. 13 Harvard 21-14 Friday, and taking down Providence 20-8 Sunday.
On top of its high-powered offensive performance last weekend, Duke also received an impressive performance from face-off man Jack Rowe, who won a combined 42 of 55 faceoff over the weekend and has continued to improve at the X as the season has progressed.
“Jack’s one of those guys who’s been in our program for four years, but he sat behind mythic figures in C.J. Costabile and Brandon Fowler,” Danowski said. “The reason we scheduled a lot of games early in the season was so guys like Jack would get more game experience.”
Rowe will be even more important for the Blue Devils this weekend, as Loyola is the No. 7 team in the country in faceoff percentage, winning 65 percent of its face-offs, compared to Duke’s 57 percent.
“This is the next big test [for him] for sure and we’re all curious to see how it’s going to turn out,” Danowski said. “Their guy [Graham Savio] is at like 64% and presents a tremendous challenge.”
When these two teams play it is always an intriguing matchup, but this season’s game has particular emphasis for the Blue Devils. When they met last year, the Greyhounds gave Duke its worst defeat of the season, easing past The Blue Devils 14-7.
Despite the ugly score line, getting revenge on Loyola is not a motivational tool for the Blue Devils this go-around, simply because it is such a different team from last season’s squad.
“It is so far away,” Danowski said of the two teams’ previous matchup. “We thought about it early in the week but, I don’t think we’ve mentioned it since, only because we have such a brand new team.”
Although the team that is set to face the Greyhounds this Saturday may be different from last year’s, Duke is still aware of how challenging Loyola is as an opponent and how important a game this is.
“The thought of playing Loyola at home on a Saturday afternoon game and hopefully with a break in the weather has got the guys really excited,” Danowski said. “If we’re not focused though, the game will get out of hand pretty quickly because they are so explosive.”
Should the Blue Devils be able to maintain their focus against the Greyhounds and continue their strong performances, they will enter the history books, having won the most consecutive games at Koskinen Stadium in Duke Men’s Lacrosse history.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.