The Duke men's lacrosse team successfully opened its season this weekend, beating Drexel 10-5 Friday, and then following that victory with a 12-4 defeat of Butler yesterday afternoon.
Although the Blue Devils won both games in convincing fashion, coach Mike Pressler assessed his team's weekend performance with mixed emotions. Pressler was very pleased with the play of his veteran defense, but articulated some minor frustration with the offensive unit.
"I called for some patience and we didn't exhibit that," he said. "Against the big boys, the Marylands, the Loyolas, they're going to take advantage of that."
Duke's offensive woes resulted not from a want of chances, but from an inability to finish. In both games, the Blue Devils unleashed a deluge of shots on net, out-shooting Drexel 46-29 and Butler 43-25.
In Friday's contest, Duke struggled early, holding only a 5-3 lead at halftime. However, Duke broke the game open with a five-goal third quarter. Junior Alex Lieske scored two of those goals, cleanly finishing off a pair of Hunter Henry passes.
Behind the excellent play of its midfield, Duke established itself offensively much earlier against Butler. Henry scored Duke's first two goals and Chris Hartofilis added a goal and an assist, as Duke opened a 4-1 first-quarter lead.
Throughout the game, Duke's midfield utilized its superior athleticism to dictate the pace of the game. Hartofilis finished with two goals and three assists and linemate Kevin Cassesse added two assists.
Another of the game's offensive stars was Kevin Brennan, who scored a game-high three goals. Although normally a midfielder, the sophomore registered his first career hat trick while playing attack in the absence of the injured Greg Patchak. On his first goal, Brennan supplied the game's most impressive highlight, out-muscling two Butler defenders before flinging a one-handed shot past Butler netminder Brendan Winkler.
Despite the impressive goal, Duke led only 6-3 at halftime as the Bulldogs hung tough, clawing their way back behind the play of Doug Patterson. But, in similar fashion to Friday's game against Drexel, Duke again pulled away in the second half, wearing down the Bulldogs.
Indeed, Pressler cited his team's superior conditioning as the primary reason for Duke's victory.
"I think what happened to Butler is they got a little tired in the second half," Pressler said. "We started getting out over the top and pushing the transition game."
All-America goalie Matt Breslin concurred with his coach's comments regarding the game's tempo. "The only way they could really beat us was to slow the game down," Breslin said.
Despite being overmatched, neither Drexel nor Butler quit. Indeed, Breslin received his only real test of the weekend in the fourth quarter yesterday, as the Bulldogs unleashed a desperate torrent of shots. Breslin responded well to the challenge, though, by making a series of outstanding saves.
Afterward, Breslin attributed much of his own individual success to the defensive players surrounding him.
"Our defense played great, especially our short sticks; the midfielders played unbelievably," Breslin said. "No one really got run by, and that makes my job easier."
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