Duke Closes Non-Conference Slate Sunday at Jacksonville

Sunday, March 14

Jacksonville, Fla.

3 P.M.

Duke University

Jacksonville

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Duke Closes Non-Conference Slate Sunday at Jacksonville

3/13/2021 8:19:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse

Watch | ESPN+Live Stats Digital Game Program

The Opening Faceoff

Duke moved to 7-0 with a 27-8 win against No. 18 High Point Wednesday. The Blue Devils are off to their best start since the 2008 squad started 8-0. Duke has not allowed more than eight goals in each of its past five victories.
Duke once again had a balanced offensive effort against High Point. Sowers and O'Neill led the way with five points apiece. Cameron Mule registered his first career hat trick and 12 different Blue Devils scored in the win. Duke held High Point scoreless for 20:56, going on a 14-0 run in that span. Mike Adler finished with eight saves in 35 minutes.
Jacksonville is 3-2 overall with wins over Bellarmine, Mercer and Utah. The Dolphins' two losses came against No. 2 North Carolina and No. 19 Navy on the road.
Jack Dolan and Matt Stagnitta headline the offense with 15 and 14 points, respectively. The Dolphins are averaging just 10.40 goals per game and shooting just under .300 for the season.
Defensively, Jacksonville is only allowing 10.6 goals per game and is led by Conor Shears' seven caused turnovers. Arcona has a 19.19 goals against average and a .418 save percentage. In goal, Adam Baker has played the majority of minutes and has a 12.03 goals against average and has made 26 saves in four starts.

Duke – Jacksonville by the Numbers
31 – Assists needed for Michael Sowers to break Pat Spencer's NCAA career assists mark of 231
27 – Goals scored by Duke against High Point, the most since 2000 and fifth most in Duke single-game history
10 – Points Nakeie Montgomery needs to join the 100-point club at Duke
10 – Caused turnovers needed by defenseman JT Giles-Harris to break the Duke career record
10.60 – Jacksonville's goals against average through five games
17.29 – Duke's goals scored per game average this season
8.90 – Duke's margin of victory in its 10 wins over Jacksonville
83 – Points from Duke's attack trio of Sowers, Robertson and O'Neill - 44 percent of the team's points total
22 – Different Blue Devils who have scored this season, including 10 with at least five goals
7.14 - Mike Adler's goals against average, second in the ACC and ninth nationally

Duke Off to a 6-0 Start

Duke is at the end of its three games in seven days set. The Blue Devils are 7-0, including going undefeated in the month of February for the first time since 2014. Duke's 7-0 start is the best since and going 8-0 in 2008. The Blue Devils' highwater mark is 11-0 in 2005. Under head coach John Danowski, Duke has gone unbeaten three times in February – 2-0 in 2007 and 2008 and 4-0 in 2014.
Not only do the Blue Devils have an unblemished record, they've done so in convincing fashion, sporting a 9.00 scoring margin to rank tied for first in the ACC and second nationally.

Mentor vs. Mentee

The head coaches of Sunday's matchup have a unique connection. Duke head coach John Danowski served as the U.S. Men's National Team coach in 2018 at the FIL World Championships, while Jacksonville leader John Galloway was the goaltender for the gold-medal winning squad.
Prior to coaching at Jacksonville, Galloway served as a volunteer assistant coach for Danowski and the Blue Devils and then as an assistant coach for former Duke assistant Chris Gabrielli at Providence.

Breaking Down the Blue Devils

Michael Sowers is the top scorer with 37 points (17g, 20a), while Joe Robertson has 24 (19, 5) in his five games. Nakeie Montgomery (10, 8) has 18, his second highest season total. Brennan O'Neill (17g, 5a) has 22 after netting five against High Point. Twenty-two different players have scored at least one goal and nine have at least five goals. Duke's attack trio has 83 of the team's 187 points.
Like on offense, Duke has depth at the defensive end with two rope units - Terry Lindsay, Jake Caputo, Garrett Leadmon, Blake Leischow and Matt Chmil – and two experienced goaltenders in Mike Adler and Turner Uppgren. The close defense is anchored by All-American JT Giles-Harris and sophomores Tyler Carpenter and Kenny Brower. Wilson Stephenson earned his first start down low against High Point, allowing Carpenter to move out to LSM and to the faceoff wing. Duke's scoring defense is second in the ACC and 12th nationally.

What Gives

Sunday's game pits the high scoring offense of Duke - 17.29 goals per game – against a stingy Jacksonville defense. The Dolphins are allowing 10.60 goals per game, while Duke has not been held to fewer than 12 goals in a game this season. The Blue Devils are shooting an impressive .414 this season as Jacksonville has held opponents to .323.

Quick Strike Offense

Over the course of seven games, Duke has proven it can score fast and furiously. This was on display against High Point as the Blue Devils scored 10 goals in a span of 9:02, including three goals from Brennan O'Neill in 24 seconds.
Overall this season, Duke has scored at least five goals in fewer than nine minutes in six of the seven contests. Against Mercer, the Blue Devils had a pair of stretches, registering five goals in 6:02 and another five in 5:59.

Starting Fast

After getting off to slow starts in the first quarters of their first two games – only scored three goals and gave up 10 – the Blue Devils outscored their opponents 31-8 in the opening 15 minutes of the past five games.
Duke has not trailed in a game since midway through the second quarter against Robert Morris.

A Win Over Jacksonville Would

Be head coach John Danowski's 426th career win
Be Danowski's 207th win at Duke
Be the program's 596th overall victory
Make Duke 229-132 in the month of March

Second Quarter Squeeze

Duke's defense has put the clamps on opponents in the second quarters this season. The Blue Devils have allowed just eight goals overall in the second period and giving up an average of just 6.86 shots in the quarter.
Duke has shut out three of its foes in the second stanza and forced a total of 38 turnovers in seven games. The Blue Devils used the second 15 minutes to claw back from early deficits against both Denver and Robert Morris.

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