No. 1 Duke Travels to No. 5 Notre Dame Saturday

Saturday, April 10

South Bend, Ind.

12 P.M.

Duke University

Notre Dame

Photo by: Duke Athletics

No. 1 Duke Travels to No. 5 Notre Dame Saturday

4/9/2021 1:02:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

Game Notes Watch | ESPNU Live Stats

The Opening Faceoff

Duke is 10-0, its best start through 10 games since the 2005 squad started 11-0. The Blue Devils stayed put at No. 1 in the polls following a thrilling 12-11 overtime win over No. 2 North Carolina last Thursday.
Senior captain took the reins against the Tar Heels, scoring four goals, including the overtime winner, and adding three assists for seven points. Brennan O'Neill, Owen Caputo and Dyson Williams each had two tallies. Duke held Notre Dame to just one goal in the game's final 23:13 to secure the victory.
Saturday's matchup will be the second time top-five matchup in series history and the first in the regular season. Duke also faced Notre Dame as No. 1 in the 2018 ACC Tournament, falling 14-11.
After Duke won 13 of 15 games from 2007-13, the rivalry is an even 3-3 since 2014. North Carolina last won in Durham in 2016, a 17-16 overtime shootout.
The matchup between the Blue Devils and Tar Heels pits two talented offenses and stalwart defenses against each other. Duke has the nation's No. 3 scoring offense and Notre Dame the No. 2 scoring defense. The Irish own the No. 9 scoring offense, while Duke's scoring defense is also ninth. Pat Kavanagh for Notre Dame is fourth in the nation in scoring average (6.17/gm), while Michael Sowers for Duke is 17th (5.10/gm) and Robertson 19th (4.88/gm).

Duke – Notre Dame by the Numbers
22 – Assists needed for Michael Sowers to break Pat Spencer's NCAA career assists mark of 231
.667 – Rookie Jake Naso's faceoff percentage, second in the ACC
.722 – Kyle Gallagher's success rate at the X, second nationally
5 – Points Nakeie Montgomery needs to join the 100-point club at Duke
7.33 – Notre Dame's scoring defense, the best in the ACC
16.50 – Duke's scoring average, third nationally
6.17 – Points per game for Irish attackman Pat Kavanagh, fourth highest in the country
1 – Time this season Duke has allowed an individual opponent to score six points in a game

Duke Off to a 10-0 Start

Duke made it through its non-conference slate with an 8-0 record and went undefeated in the month of February for the first time since 2014. The wins against Syracuse and North Carolina pushed Duke to 10-0 for the second time in program history – the 2005 team started 11-0. 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 an 8.33 scoring margin to rank first in the ACC and second nationally.

Blue Devils Stay No. 1

The Blue Devils stayed put at No. 1 following their win against North Carolina last week. Duke and North Carolina had been swapping the top spot throughout the year with the Blue Devils starting the season at No. 1 before UNC took over after convincing early season results.
The Blue Devils are 9-6 under head coach John Danowski as No. 1.

Scouting Notre Dame

Notre Dame enters the weekend after a massive 18-11 victory over No. 4 Syracuse last weekend. The road win launched the Fighting Irish back into the top five with a 5-1 mark and 1-1 record in the ACC.
Like Duke, Notre Dame features a top offense and top defense. The Irish are averaging 14.83 goals per game to rank ninth nationally. Pat Kavanagh quarterbacks the offense with 37 points from 11 goals and 26 assists. His 4.33 assists per game average is the best in the country. Will Yorke is the top goal scorer with 14 goals.
Notre Dame is always outstanding around the goal and this year is no different as it sports the No. 2 scoring defense in the country with a 7.33 goals against average. The Irish have not allowed more than 12 goals in a game this season and have held opponents to under seven goals in four games. Jose Boyer is the top takeaway artist with eight caused turnovers, while top defenseman Jack Kielty has four. In goal, Liam Entenmann leads the league with a .596 save percentage and a 7.35 goals against average.
At the X, Kyle Gallagher is ranked second nationally with a .722 win percentage and 7.33 ground balls per game. Charles Leonard has taken 56 draws and won 40 for a .714 win percentage.

Intriguing Individual Matchups on Tap

Saturday's game at Arlotta Stadium in South Bend, Ind., will feature some of the most intriguing individual matchups on both ends of the field so far this season. Top scorers Pat Kavanagh of Notre Dame and Blue Devil Michael Sowers lead their respective offenses, while Duke's JT Giles-Harris and Irish defenseman Jack Kielty anchor the stalwart defenses. Overall, Notre Dame's attack trio averages 11.5 points per game, while Duke sports a 12.2 per game average.
The game also features two of the country's best goaltenders as Irish sophomore Liam Entenmann sports a 7.35 goals against average, while Duke graduate student Mike Adler stands at 8.39. The battle extends to the faceoff X where Duke rookie Jake Naso (.667 win percentage) and Notre Dame's Kyle Gallagher (.722).

What Gives?

Saturday's game will feature not only two of the nation's scoring offenses, but also top defenses. Notre Dame features the country's ninth-ranked offense, averaging 14.83 goals per game, while Duke is allowing just 8.90. The Irish are averaging 48.7 shots per game, but Duke is holding its opponents to just 34.8 per outing.
Individually, Notre Dame's Kavanagh currently leads the nation in assists per game (4.33) and is fourth in points (6.17). He'll be going up against a Duke defense that is allowing just 8.90 goals per game, ranking ninth nationally. Kavanagh is coming off a nine-point outing versus the Orange and 37 points through six games. He has at least five points in five of the six outings and has scored nine twice.
In comparison, Duke's defense has allowed an individual player to score six points once and five points twice. The most goals scored by a Blue Devil opponent this season has been four – Chase Scanlan of Syracuse and Corson Kealey from Robert Morris.
On the offensive side of the field, Duke is scoring 25.90 per game overall. Overall, Duke has four players in the top 17 in the ACC in points and goals and three of the top eight in assists. The Blue Devils will look to keep this pace against a Notre Dame defense that is allowing only 7.33 goals per game.
The Fighting Irish have held four of six opponents to single digit goals and recently held Syracuse to just 11. Notre Dame keeps opponents to only 30 shots per game and to .240 shooting, while Duke averages just over 43 shots per game and is shooting .382 for the year.

A Win over Notre Dame Would

Be head coach John Danowski's 429th career win
Be Danowski's 210th win at Duke
Be Danowski's 34th ACC victory
Be the program's 599th overall victory
Make Duke 191-180 in the month of April
Be Duke's third top-5 win of the season
Match Duke's best record through 11 games in program history

Duke Against Top 10 Teams

When Duke and Notre Dame meet Thursday, it will be the 112th time the Blue Devils have played a top 10 opponent since 2007. Duke is 70-41 in the games and Duke is 43-17 when ranked higher.
Duke and Notre Dame are playing for the 16th time with both programs ranked in the top 10 and for the second time as top-five foes. Duke is 6-4 when ranked higher. This is the first time in the regular season the Blue Devils and Irish will play as top five opponents. The Blue Devils are 0-1 when ranked first and playing Notre Dame.

Current Blue Devils vs. Notre Dame

Duke has played Notre Dame more in the past four years than any other team. Saturday will be the eighth meeting between the rivals since 2017 after they played at least twice in each of the past four seasons, including three times in 2019. Nakeie Montgomery and Joe Robertson have fared well against the Irish, averaging 2.6 and 2.8 points, respectively in the five outings.

Duke in the ACC

Duke has been an ACC leader since 2001, winning six league titles and sporting a .611 win percentage in all games against ACC foes.
Under John Danowski, the Blue Devils are 33-15 in ACC regular season contests.

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