The Duke lacrosse team moved one step closer to being mentioned in the same breath with the nation's elite teams Saturday, as it sank Navy on the Midshipmen's home turf, 14-9. It is the first time the Blue Devils have beaten Navy on the road in 27 years.
"This is our fourth year together," said Duke head coach Mike Pressler, whose team improved to 5-1 on the year, while dropping Navy to 3-2. "We finally beat Maryland last year, and got that monkey off our back. We beat Virginia at Virginia in 1992. Now, in 1994, we finally beat Navy at Navy. It means a lot to us."
That is perhaps the understatement of the year. This game was for revenge, as one-goal losses to the Midshipmen in two out of the past three years have left Duke on the outside looking in come NCAA tournament time. It was a chance to catch the eyes of the tournament selection committee with a third straight win on the road. And it was a chance to erase the memory of a disheartening loss to Atlantic Coast Conference foe Maryland, to whom the Blue Devils fell two weeks ago.
"We know we should be 6-0," Pressler said. "We know we should've beaten Maryland. But since then, we've recovered nicely. We went on the road and got three straight games against UMBC, Brown and now Navy. We bounced back."
On Saturday, Duke's effort was led by a strong offensive attack which was focused not on overwhelming the Midshipmen, but picking and choosing the spots to attack. The attackmen continued to increase their production with a total of seven goals, including three from junior Scott Harrison, who also added two assists. Junior midfielder Ross Moscatelli matched his totals in both categories, and juniors Bob Carpenter and Matt Ogelsby got on the board multiple times, each scoring twice.
For the game, Navy outshot Duke 58-27, but Blue Devil accuracy proved to be the key in pulling out the victory. Twenty-five of Duke's shots were on goal.
"We're really becoming a good shooting team," said Pressler. "We don't need a whole lot of chances. We made them pay for every chance we got.
"Navy had a lot of chances, but they missed the goal on a lot of shots. When they did shoot on goal, Joe Kirmser came up big."
Yet another candidate for understatement of the year. Kirmser, the Blue Devils' sophomore goalie, continued his stellar play between the pipes, netting a season-high 22 saves. In a year when the goalie position was expected to be Duke's one big question mark, Kirmser -- who until this season had not seen a single minute of action -- is beginning to provide definitive answers.
The rest of the defense, too, stepped up its play. Most notable, according to Pressler, was senior Clay Curtis, who started for the first time at the defensive midfield position.
Curtis and his defensive mates were even able to survive an illegal stick penalty in the first quarter -- an infraction that carries with it a punishment of three minutes in the penalty box -- giving up only two goals during the stretch.
It was just the type of play the Blue Devils needed to bring home the victory, and just the type they will need to continue as the schedule only gets tougher from here. The win over Navy was certainly big, but games against North Carolina and Georgetown this week are looming large on the horizon.
"If there was a game we circled in red on the schedule as a pivotal game, it was this one," Pressler said. "We knew from the beginning of the season this week would be the toughest of the year with Navy Carolina and Georgetown. I'm just proud of our guys for going out and getting the first one."
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