Four Duke Players To Return For Fifth Season

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) - Four Duke Men's lacrosse players, including national player of the year Matt Danowski, will return for a fifth season granted by the NCAA to restore a year lost amid allegations that led to false charges against three former teammates.

Goaltender Dan Loftus and defensemen Tony McDevitt and Nick O'Hara will join Danowski in returning to the Durham campus for the 2008 season. The players are required to pursue graduate-level course work to be eligible for the fifth year.

In May, the NCAA granted Duke's request for the extra year for its players who were not seniors during the 2006 season.

In 2006, the Blue Devils played just eight games before the university canceled what was left of the schedule as police investigated allegations following a team party.

The return of the four players strengthens a Duke team that went 17-3 in 2007 and lost to Johns Hopkins by a goal in the NCAA championship game for the second time in three seasons.

Last season Danowski won the Tewaaraton Trophy as the nation's top men's lacrosse player, finishing with an ACC single-season record and national-best 96 points on 44 goals and 52 assists. Loftus started in goal every game for Duke last year, while O'Hara played in all 20 games. McDevitt started 16 games after missing four games with a knee injury.