Duke Attack Leads No. 8 Blue Devils Past Air Force, 16-11

Saturday, March 8

Durham, N.C.

12 p.m.

Duke University

6-1

Air Force

2-5

Air Force

Duke University

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Duke Attack Leads No. 8 Blue Devils Past Air Force, 16-11

3/8/2025 3:44:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

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DURHAM, N.C.—Duke attackman Eric Malever had a career-high five goals and four assists for nine points to lead the eighth-ranked Blue Devils to a 16-11 win over Air Force in non-conference men's lacrosse action Saturday afternoon at Koskinen Stadium.

Malever registered three goals and four assists in the second half to help Duke (6-1) pull away from the Falcons. The first half featured five ties and one lead change as the teams traded goals for the first 20 minutes.

Duke's starting attack unit finished with 15 of the 26 points with Malever totaling nine and Luke Grayum posting four goals. Andrew McAdorey paced the midfield with a goal and three assists. Duke's ride was the story for the defense, holding Air Force (2-5) to 14-of-25 clearing.

How it Happened

Duke and Air Force went back and forth in the first 20 minutes with neither team leading by more than a goal. The Falcons scored first at the 12:32 mark before Grayum got Duke on the board two minutes later.
After Air Force went back in front, 2-1, the Blue Devils got consecutive goals from Chris Cusolito and Graham Blake for their first lead of the afternoon.
The Falcons' attack continued to have the answer, tying the game three more times before Duke used a 3-0 spurt to take an 8-5 lead at the half. Grayum and Cusolito connected to break the 5-5 tie while Benn Johnston finished a pass from McAdorey to make it 7-5. McAdorey capped the first-half scoring with 1:52 remaining with a solo effort.
Caelen Driggs scored the first two goals of the second half, pulling Air Force back within one, 8-7, just four minutes into the third quarter.
Duke capitalized on the success at the faceoff dot for the rest of the period, going on a 4-0 run to jump ahead, 12-7. Malever had a hand in all four of the goals, scoring twice and dishing a pair of assists.
The Blue Devils' ride continued to give Air Force fits in the fourth quarter as the Falcons failed to clear four times, allowing Duke to maintain its lead down the stretch.
Sophomore Cal Girard was excellent at the faceoff dot, winning 14-of-21 restarts and picking up nine ground balls. Keith Boyer was at the center of the ride, amassing three caused turnovers and two ground balls.
In goal, Patrick Jameison had six saves, two caused turnovers and three ground balls. Aiden Blake also was instrumental in the faceoff game, picking up four ground balls from the wing.
Duke outshot Air Force, 40-31, with Falcons goalie Jake Marek making an impressive 17 saves, including eight in the first quarter. The Blue Devils also won the ground ball battle, 38-31.

Team Notes

Duke moves to 6-1 on the year and 5-1 in home contests.
The Blue Devils held Air Force to just 56 percent clearing. The Falcons entered the game at 82 percent on the season. Duke entered Saturday's game with an opponent clearing percentage of 90 percent, ranking the Blue Devils 60th among Division I programs.
Duke recorded 13 caused turnovers, matching its season-best performance from two other games. The 24 turnovers by Air Force were the most for a Duke opponent this season.
Duke is 239-40 when scoring at least 10 goals in a game and 80-71 when allowing double-digit goals.
Outscoring Air Force, 4-2, in the third quarter pushes Duke's third-quarter scoring margin to 29-11 on the year.

Player and Coach Notes

With the win, head coach John Danowski becomes the second coach in NCAA men's lacrosse history to win at least 478 games. He is 478-220 in his 42-year career and 259-81 at Duke.
Cal Girard matched his career high with 14 faceoff victories and nine ground balls. He also had 14 and 9 against Syracuse in the 2023 ACC Championship semifinal.
Eric Malever recorded a career-high five goals and a career-best four assists for a career day of nine points. He also had a career-high two caused turnovers, matching his career total. He has two hat tricks this season and three games with at least five points.
Malever scored his fifth man-up goal of the season, leading the Blue Devils' extra-man unit.
Luke Grayum notched his fourth hat trick of the season with four goals – the most of his Duke career. Grayum has 89 career goals, leaving him 11 shy of the century mark.
Andrew McAdorey had one goal to give him 99 for his career. He finished the afternoon with four points (1g, 3a) to move to 30th in Duke history with 159 career points. He is 19 points away from climbing into the top 25 at Duke.
Keith Boyer's three caused turnovers are a career best and give him four for this season to match his total in 14 games last year.