Three times this season, the men's lacrosse team has traveled north for a game between two undefeated, top-10 teams. Three times, Duke has emerged with its record unblemished.
Already having handed Maryland and Maryland-Baltimore County their first losses, the second-ranked Blue Devils (7-0) knocked off No. 6 Georgetown (4-1) Saturday in Washington, D.C., 10-8. Jared Frood paced the offense with four goals and the Duke defense put in another strong showing in front of 2,216 fans at Harbin Field.
"It was a workmanlike performance," said coach Mike Pressler. "We played hard and we played smart."
The Blue Devils led by three with under two minutes to play when Hoya midfielder Mike Henehan notched his second goal of the game to make the score 10-8. With 43 seconds remaining, a slashing penalty against Georgetown called back a goal that would have cut the deficit to one, and Duke held onto the ball as time expired.
The Blue Devils led-and led by at least two-for much of the contest. Duke pulled ahead for good late in the first quarter, scoring three unanswered goals in the final 2:16 to build a 4-2 advantage. Frood tallied a pair of goals in the spurt, which featured two of the Blue Devils' four scores in extra-man opportunities.
Henehan's first goal made it a 4-3 game with 12:04 to go in the second quarter, but Duke's Greg Patchak answered 26 seconds later and the Hoyas never again pulled within one.
While the Blue Devils scored four extra-man goals, they held Georgetown to one in eight opportunities.
"[Defenseman Dan] Umbel is like our quarterback in the crease defending against the extra man," Pressler said. "He spends a lot of time studying videotape of the other team's tendencies on offense. More times than not we have quicker reactions in that situation and that's due to preparation."
Pressler wouldn't have minded, however, if Duke had fewer opportunities to prove its prowess in those situations. The Blue Devils went to the penalty box about five times too many, he said.
"We're ready to have a 15- or 16-goal day," Pressler added. "I thought it might be [Saturday], but you start getting guys in the penalty box and you get out of your offensive rhythm."
Not that the Hoyas ever had much offensive rhythm. Duke held All-American Greg McCavera, who scored four times in the first half versus the Blue Devils a year ago, to a hat trick, with only one goal coming one-on-one against defender Stephen Card. And fellow attackmen Scott Urick and Andy Flick, who came in with 37 goals between them, went scoreless.
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