Blue Devils and Big Red Renew Rivalry on Long Island

Saturday, April 11

Brookville, N.Y.

2 p.m.

Duke University

Cornell

April 4, 2026: The Duke Blue Devils Men Lacrosse takes on University of Virginia on Freeman Field at Koskinen Stadium.

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Blue Devils and Big Red Renew Rivalry on Long Island

4/10/2026 9:06:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse

Game Notes Watch Live Stats

The Opening Faceoff

Duke and Cornell face off at 2 p.m. Saturday at Long Island University. It will be the first regular season matchup between the two schools in 17 years and the first meeting since a 2013 NCAA semifinal game.
The Blue Devils are 8-2 and ranked No. 11 in the USILA poll and 12th by Inside Lacrosse and 13th by USA Lacrosse magazine following a setback to Virginia. Cornell is 6-3 and ranked seventh by the coaches and Inside Lacrosse and eighth in USA Lacrosse Magazine.
Junior Benn Johnston paces the offense with 31 goals and six assists for 37 points. Kyle Colsey is right behind him with 24 goals and seven assists for 31 points, while freshman Michael Ortlieb rounds out the attack unit with 18 goals and 12 assists for 30 points. The trio of Brady Scioletti, Max Sloat and Liam Kershis pace the midfield in points with 28, 23 and 18, respectively. Mencke has a team-high 13 assists.
The Blue Devils are holding teams to 8.50 goals and to just 27-percent shooting. Charlie Johnson (15), Henry Bard (12), Will Pedicano (12) and Aidan Maguire (11) have combined for 50 caused turnovers and 79 ground balls. Johnson and Bard lead the close defense off the ground with 20 and 18 ground balls, respectively. In goal, Patrick Jameison has a 7.76 goals against average and a .508 save percentage.

By the Numbers
36 - Percent of Duke's goals scored by the freshman trio of Kyle Colsey, Michael Ortlieb and Brady Scioletti
3 - Points needed for senior Max Sloat to reach the 100-point benchmark
3.10 - Goals per game average for Benn Johnston - the highest in the ACC and eighth among Division I players
3.22 - Goals per game games for Cornell's Willem Firth
12 - Caused turnovers by freshman LSM Will Pedicano - tying Luke Duprey for the most by a Duke rookie since the NCAA started tracking the statistic in 2010
.728 - Duke's opponent clearing percentage this season, ranking second nationally behind Boston University
.870 - Cornell's clear percentage, having cleared less than 80 percent of the time just twice this season
.592 - Faceoff percentage for Cornell's two specialists, the best in the Ivy League and ninth nationally
.611 - Junior Cal Girard's faceoff percentage this season, improving from 43 percent as a freshman and 47 percent last season
100 - Faceoff wins for Girard in 2026, 18 more than he had in the two previous seasons combined despite taking 26 fewer faceoffs

Series History

Duke and Cornell meet for just the 11th time overall and the first time since the 2013 NCAA Semifinals. The two perennial powers are playing in the regular season for the first time since 2009. Duke is 4-6 all-time against the Big Red, but hasn't defeated Cornell in the regular season since 1953. It is only the seventh time the two teams have played in regular season action.

Duke vs The Ivies

Duke has played each of the seven Ivy League programs at least 10 times and is 62-43-1 all-time against the Ivies. The Blue Devils own winning records versus three of the seven and sit at .500 against Yale. Duke has played at least one Ivy League foe in all but two seasons under head coach John Danowski. The Duke leader is 25-12 against the Ivies in his time with the Blue Devils.
Duke vs. the Ivies breakdown is - Brown (11-7), Cornell (4-6), Dartmouth (15-0), Harvard (15-5), Penn (7-8), Princeton (2-9), Yale (8-8-1).

Against Ranked Opponents

Under John Danowski, Duke is 145-79 (.647) versus USILA top-20 opponents. Saturday's game will be Duke's fifth against a top-20 foe this season and Cornell's sixth. Cornell is 3-2 versus top-20 opponents.
Duke defeated then No. 18 Saint Joseph's (12-6) and No. 14 Denver (8-7) before dropping a hard-fought 16-15 decision at No. 7 Syracuse and suffered a 14-10 loss to No. 16 Virginia The Blue Devils' highest ranked RPI win is Saint Joseph's (21). A victory over Cornell would give the Blue Devils a top-20 win.
Duke went 5-5 last season against ranked teams and was 3-3 when ranked higher. The Blue Devils were 3-2 in home games against a top-20 foe in 2025.

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