Duke men's lacrosse opens ACC play with showdown against No. 5 Syracuse

For nearly two years from 2013 to 2015, Duke became very accustomed to winning at home, rattling off 21 consecutive victories in the friendly confines of Koskinen Stadium—tied for the longest streak in program history—en route to back-to-back national titles.

But after dropping an April 4 contest to Notre Dame last season, the Blue Devils have gone just 6-4 at home—including two losses this season against unranked Richmond March 7 and No. 20 Air Force Tuesday—and have appeared to misplace the reliable magic of their home stadium, where Duke head coach John Danowski sports an 87-14 clip.

In the back half of their current four-game homestand, the No. 11 Blue Devils will look to return to their winning ways at Koskinen Stadium in their conference opener against No. 5 Syracuse Saturday at noon. After being stunned by the Falcons in overtime Tuesday, Duke will try to bounce back against a strong Orange squad that is looking to rebound from an overtime loss of its own against Johns Hopkins last Saturday.

“[Syracuse is] great,” Danowski said. “They’re one of the top teams in the country year after year—a lot of fifth-year seniors, a lot of talent, athleticism [and] well-coached. [They are] just an awesome, awesome group.”

In last season’s conference opener, the Blue Devils (6-4) were blown out on the road against Syracuse (5-1, 1-0 in the ACC) in the Carrier Dome. Although the matchup was billed as a top-five showdown, the Orange crushed Duke, jumping out to a 13-1 lead after two periods before wrapping up a 19-7 victory.

Attackman Dylan Donahue was nearly unstoppable for Syracuse in that matchup, recording five goals and two assists—including three tallies and two helpers before halftime—as the Orange ran away with the contest, outshooting the Blue Devils 34-12 in the first half. This season, Donahue—who boasts a team-high 28 points—will look to extend the nation’s longest point streak to 46 games in a repeat performance for Syracuse.

“[Donahue]’s great,” Danowski said. “He lit us up last year. [He is] smart, coach’s son, terrific shooter, feeder [and] a consummate team player.”

Danowski’s squad has given up several extended runs this season, which could spell trouble if Duke allows another fast start by an Orange team that has outscored opponents 46-21 in the first 30 minutes. Against the Falcons Tuesday, the Blue Devils gave up six unanswered goals, but if they have any hope of nabbing their first win against Syracuse since the 2014 regular season, they will have to keep Donahue and fellow attackman Nick Mariano—who recorded his third consecutive hat trick last weekend—from producing another offensive outburst.

“You can dwell on [Tuesday] night’s loss for maybe 24 hours at most, then you’ve got to move forward because Syracuse is coming on Saturday, getting around to the ACC schedule,” senior Case Matheis said. “You’ve just got to move on, take the lessons that you learn…that we learned from Richmond, that we learned from Harvard, Denver and you’ve got to incorporate that into everyday practice.”

So far this season, Duke has not won a game in which it has allowed more than 11 goals, which could be problematic against the high-powered Orange offense. Syracuse has recorded 41.8 shots per game and is averaging 13.7 goals per contest. Coupled with a dominant 68.9 percent winning percentage on faceoffs, the Orange have the ability to keep possession, pass to open attackmen and find the back of the net with ease.

If the Blue Devils struggle to get the ball between the pipes for the second straight game—Air Force goalkeeper Doug Gouchoe recorded 17 saves Tuesday—they may have to rely on faceoff specialist Kyle Rowe to keep winning possessions at the X to keep any hope of winning alive. The junior is 113-of-163 for the year in faceoffs, winning 69.3 percent of his draws.

“[Syracuse is] an ACC defense and they’re going to be very athletic—rangy, good feet—so we’ve just got to approach every matchup and try to win your matchups,” Matheis said. “[You have to] see what the defense gives you, see how they play midfielders, play off how they cover Myles [Jones] and Deemer [Class], and you’ve just got to be a smart player out there.”

Phil Coons contributed reporting.