No. 2 Duke Travels to No. 16 Richmond Sunday

Sunday, March 7

Richmond, Va.

4 P.M.

Duke University

Richmond

Photo by: Duke Athletics

No. 2 Duke Travels to No. 16 Richmond Sunday

3/6/2021 4:19:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

Watch | ESPN+Live Stats Game Program Game Notes

The Opening Faceoff

Duke went 5-0 in the month of February for the first time since 2014 and is off to its best start since 2008. Sunday's game starts a busy three-game in seven days set for the Blue Devils.
Duke's firepower at attack was too much for Air Force as the trio of Joe Robertson, Michael Sowers and Brennan O'Neill combined for 21 of the team's 30 points. Robertson had 10 points, Sowers dropped eight and O'Neill finished with three. Duke held Air Force to two goals on nine shots in the first half. Jake Naso continued to roll at the X, winning 16-of-26 restarts.
Richmond is 1-2 with a setbacks to No. 1 North Carolina (14-9) and No. 10 Loyola in overtime (8-7). The Spiders are coming off an 11-10 victory over Towson.
Ryan Lanchbury, an honorable mention All-America pick in 2019, headlines the offense with nine points (3g, 6a). Dalton Young, Luke Grayum and Richie Connell all have five goals apiece. Offensively, the Spiders are averaging only nine goals and 33 shots per game. They have scored double digits once in 2021.
Defensively, Richmond goalie Jake Rusbuldt is one of the best in the country, averaging 14.67 saves per game. The Spiders are allowing 10.67 goals and 39 shots per game. Graduate student Sean Menges anchors the defense with six caused turnovers.

Duke Richmond by the Numbers
34 – Assists needed for Michael Sowers to break Pat Spencer's NCAA career assists mark of 231

.667 – Jake Naso's faceoff win percentage, the best of all freshmen in the country and ninth among all FOGOs

.391 – Duke's shooting percentage after five games, the highest in the conference and fifth nationally

.571 – Richmond's man-up percentage, eighth nationally

.727 – Duke's man-down defense percentage, 15th among Division I teams

.600 – Senior Nakeie Montgomery's shooting percentage, second in the league and 11th among all Division I players

22 – Goals allowed by Duke in the past three games, the same amount the Blue Devils gave up in the first two games

14.67 – Saves per game by Richmond goaltender Jack Rusbuldt, fourth nationally

Duke off to a 5-0 Start

Duke played five games in a span of 21 days in February, going 5-0. The Blue Devils are undefeated in the month for the first time since 2014, while the 5-0 start is the best since the 2008 squad started the year 8-0. Under head coach John Danowski, Duke had 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 7.40 scoring margin to rank third in the ACC and seventh nationally. Duke is second among teams that have played more than two games, just behind North Carolina's margin of 8.80.

Breaking Down the Blue Devils

Michael Sowers is the top scorer with 27 points (10g, 17a), while Joe Robertson has 18 (14, 4) in his three games. Brennan O'Neill (10g, 5a) and Nakeie Montgomery (9, 6) both have 15. Twenty-one different players have scored at least one goal with Robertson leading the way with 14. Duke's attack trio has 60 of the team's 128 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. Duke's scoring defense is statistically second in the ACC and seventh nationally.

Lanchbury vs The Blue Devils

Richmond attackman Ryan Lanchbury is riding a 33-game scoring streak coming into Sunday's contest. He has 97 career goals and is averaging just over two per game for his career.
He has not fared quite as well against the Blue Devils in his career. In three games against Duke, Lanchbury has just two goals and three assists, a 1.67 points per game average, less than half of his career 3.5 points per game rate.

What Gives?

Sunday's game likely will feature a matchup of Richmond's extra man offense against Duke's man-down defense at least once. The Spiders enter the game ranked eighth on extra man with a .571 percentage (4-of-7), while Duke has a .727 man-down success rate (16-of-22).
The Spiders have scored on four of their seven chances this season with Richie Connell having three of the four markers. The Blue Devils also have fared well this season on man-down, including twice holding a team scoreless despite being two men down. In another instance, the Blue Devils successfully defended a two-minute situation.

A Win Over Richmond Would