Blue Devils Continue Five-Game Homestand with Jacksonville Saturday

Saturday, February 21

Durham, N.C.

12 p.m.

Duke University

Jacksonville

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Luke Warrington of Duke men's lacrosse cradles the ball

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Blue Devils Continue Five-Game Homestand with Jacksonville Saturday

2/20/2026 11:37:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse

Game Notes Watch Live Stats

The Opening Faceoff

Duke continues its five-game homestand to start the season Saturday, hosting Jacksonville at 12 p.m. The Blue Devils are 3-0 and No. 7 in the USILA poll and 8th by Inside Lacrosse and USA Lacrosse.
On the strength of his eight points against Vermont, Kyle Colsey paces the offense with nine goals and five assists for 14 points. Benn Johnston, also having six goals versus the Catamounts, has 13 points (12 g, 1a), while Max Sloat is the top midfield goal scorer with nine goals. Thomas Mencke is the quarterback with nine assists.
The Blue Devils' stalwart defense is proving why it's considered one of the best in the country, holding teams to 7.0 goals and to just 31 shots per game. Henry Bard (4), Charlie Johnson (5) and Will Pedicano (5) have combined for 14 caused turnovers and 20 ground balls. Johnson leads the charge off the ground with 11 ground balls. In goal, Patrick Jameison has a 5.23 goals against average and a .600 save percentage.
Jacksonville is 1-2 and receiving votes in the USILA poll. Both of the Dolphins' setbacks came against top-20 foes by a single goal, - 11-10 (OT) vs. Utah and 11-10 at North Carolina. Preseason All-American Jack Taylor paces the offense with five goals and nine assists, while Nicky Brown has five goals and six assists. Senior defenseman Aaron Toguri has six caused turnovers to lead the charge on defense, while Ryan Della Rocco has been stellar between the pipes at 8.44 goals against average and .671 save percentage.

By the Numbers
36 - Percent of Duke's points this season that have come from freshmen
53 - Career caused turnovers for Aidan Maguire, 14 shy of moving into the top five in Duke history
8 - Points for redshirt freshman Kyle Colsey against Vermont, joining Zack Greer as the only other Duke freshman in the past 20 years to record eight points in one of their first three career games
151 - Saves needed by Patrick Jameison to move into the top five in Duke career history
9 - Assists this season for graduate student transfer Thomas Mencke - surpassing his total of six in 42 games at Virginia
3 - Blue Devil freshmen in the past 20 years who have registered at least seven goals in one of his first three career games
487 - Career wins for John Danowski - 13 away from becoming the first Division I men's lacrosse coach in NCAA history to reach 500
.537 - Duke's shooting percentage against Vermont - the highest by a Blue Devil squad since shooting .606 (20-of-33) against Georgetown March 19, 2016
.667 - Faceoff win percentage for junior Cal Girard - second in the ACC and 10th nationally
34 - Faceoff wins by Girard after three games, eight fewer than he had in 12 games last season
5.36 - Patrick Jameison's goals against average after two games

Series History

Duke and Jacksonville match up for the 16th consecutive season. The Blue Devils sport a 13-2 lead in the series and have won two straight after the Dolphins won two consecutive in 2022 and 2023.
Three of the past four contests have been decided by five or fewer goals, including last year's 14-9 Duke victory in Jacksonville. The Blue Devils were one of three teams to hold the Dolphins to single digits a year ago.

Ortlieb and Colsey Join Elite Company

With three goals in his debut against Bellarmine, Michael Ortlieb joined an elite group of Duke attackmen. Ortlieb is the fifth Blue Devil since 2004 to record at least three goals in his first game as a true freshman.
The most recent player to do so was Brennan O'Neill in 2021 against No. 7 Denver.
Ortlieb added two goals and two assists against Utah, giving him seven points in his first two games - the most by a Duke rookie since Justin Guterding had 10 in 2015.
Kyle Colsey inserted himself into the conversation of stellar rookies with a sock trick - six goals - against Vermont. He is the third freshman in the past 20 seasons to record at least six goals in one of his first three collegiate games.
Colsey's eight points against the Catamounts push him to 14 for the year. His 14 points rank fourth among freshman scorers in their first three contests since 2004, sitting behind Zack Greer (17), Matt Danowski (15) and Justin Guterding (15).

Youth Movement

The Blue Devils started two true freshmen on attack in a season opener for the first time under head coach John Danowski. The last time Duke had two freshmen start regularly at attack was 2011 - Jordan Wolf and Christian Walsh. Michael Ortlieb and Brady Scioletti combined for five goals in their debut and seven points in the second game.
In game three it was Colsey and Ortlieb getting the nod and combining for eight goals and two assists for 10 points.
Overall, nine of the 10 Blue Devil true freshmen have seen action with Ortlieb, Scioletti, Anthony Drago, Will Tantillo, Will Pedicano playing significant minutes. After three games, Duke freshmen account for 36 percent of the team's total points.
The trio of Colsey, Ortlieb and Scioletti have combined for 31 points - the most by any rookie trio in the past 20 seasons.

Lockdown Defense

Defensively, Duke was excellent last season, holding opponents to 10-minute scoreless stretches 23 times, including a season-long 31:00 against North Carolina in the ACC Championship semifinal.
In 2026, Duke has forced all three of its opponents to scoring droughts of at least 15 minutes, including keeping Vermont off the board for 27:50 and to just four goals in the first 45 minutes.
The Blue Devils return each of their top three caused turnover artists and five of the top seven. Duke is allowing just seven goals per game this season to rank second in the ACC and seventh nationally. Opponents are shooting just 23 percentage after three games and averaging just 31 shots per game.

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