Colsey and Johnston Lead No. 7 Duke Past Vermont, 22-6

Sunday, February 15

Durham, N.C.

12 p.m.

Duke University

Vermont

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Colsey and Johnston Lead No. 7 Duke Past Vermont, 22-6

2/15/2026 2:11:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

DURHAM, N.C. — Six Blue Devils scored two or more goals as No. 7 Duke cruised past Vermont, 22-6, in non-conference men's lacrosse action on a rainy Sunday afternoon on Freeman Field at Koskinen Stadium.

Kyle Colsey and Benn Johnston led the way with six goals apiece as each tallied a hat trick in the first quarter. The six tallies marked a career high for both. Brady Scioletti finished with three goals while Max Sloat, Michael Ortlieb and Owen Gaffney added two each. Thomas Mencke paced the squad with three assists in the winning effort and Colsey added two.

Defensively, Duke (3-0) held Vermont (1-1) to 36 shots and just 17 percent shooting. Patrick Jameison made five saves in goal and Charlie Johnson registered two caused turnovers and four ground balls.

How it Happened

With goals plentiful in the opening quarter, Duke posted an early 8-2 lead heading to the second. Benn Johnston struck first at 12:50 with Brady Scioletti following at 10:41 for a 2-0 Duke lead. Vermont's Ethan Pearson made it a 2-1 affair just six seconds later, but Kyle Colsey answered 36 seconds after for a 3-1 Blue Devil lead.
Vermont scored at 8:20 with a Kean Paré strike for a 3-2 affair, but Duke closed the quarter on a five-goal run as Johnston and Colsey each added two more and Max Sloat tallied his first of the game.
Paré struck again at 12:51 of the second quarter to make it an 8-3 game, but from there it was all Blue Devils as Duke went on a 12-0 run and held the Catamounts scoreless for 27:50.
Duke added four goals in the second to make it 12-3 at intermission. Colsey, Scioletti and Johnston added to their game tallies in the second and Michael Ortlieb scored his first of the contest.
The Blue Devils came out hot in the third and scored eight more for a 20-3 lead before Vermont scored with one second left in the third on a Luke Reiter goal.
During Duke's eight-goal run to open the third, Sloat, Ortlieb and Scioletti each struck once while Johnston and Colsey scored two each in the quarter. Thomas Mencke also registered his first score of the game.
Leading 20-4 heading to the fourth, Vermont added an Ethan Pearson goal at 14:19 to make it a 20-5 deficit. Duke's Owen Gaffney (7:40) and the Catamounts' Jack Combs (6:51) traded markers in the fourth before Gaffney's second tally with 43 seconds left made the 22-6 final.
Defensively, the Blue Devils caused nine turnovers, led by Charlie Johnson and Aidan Maguire's two each. Cal Girard led the way with eight ground balls while Ben McCarthy added five.
Girard went nine-of-15 on faceoffs with McCarthy turning in a six-of-13 effort and Luke Engelke going one-of-two.
Three Duke goalies saw action with Patrick Jameison earning the win with five saves. Buck Cunningham had two stops in just under 17 minutes of action. Henry Blake also made two stops in his 6:15 between the pipes.
Pearson and Par finished with two goals apiece for the Catamounts while Zack Toll was credited with a team-high two assists.

Notes

Duke played seven freshmen with five goals from Brady Scioletti and Michael Ortlieb. Scioletti posted a career-high three tallies and has two or more in each of his three games as a Blue Devil. Ortlieb also owns two or more in each of his three games with Duke.
Graduate midfielder Owen Gaffney scored two goals, his most as a Blue Devil following his transfer from Harvard.
Thomas Mencke was credited with a team-high three assists. He has nine assists for the Blue Devils this season, exceeding his total (six) in 42 games at Virginia. His 11 points at Duke are seven shy of his total in 14 outings with the Cavaliers last season.
Max Sloat and Benn Johnston each tallied two or more goals, marking the second third game both have had multiple tallies.
Johnston has 12 goals in three games so far this season after totaling 28 in 18 appearances last season. He has upped his goals per game average from 1.56 in 2025 to 4.00 so far in 2026.
Freshman Will Pedicano and sophomore Luke Warrington registered their first career assists on Kyle Colsey goals in the third quarter.
Sophomore Connor Nolen registered his first career assist on Mencke's strike in the third.