Scott Bross's role on the Duke lacrosse team is simple: Win face-offs. Bross performs this role remarkably well and he continued this trend against the Wahoos.
Coming into Saturday's important contest against ACC rival Virginia, Bross ranked second in the country in face-off percentage, winning an astounding 68.6 percent of the draws he has taken this season.
In Duke's 10-9 victory over the ninth-ranked Cavaliers, Bross delivered a truly dominant performance. Not only did the preseason second-team All-America win two-thirds of the face-offs, he did it against the Cavaliers' David Jenkins, another of the nation's top face-off specialists.
Bross also scored the first goal of his four-year career as a Blue Devil, capping off a magical afternoon as Duke's face-off specialist. The go-ahead goal came in spectacular fashion.
After Virginia midfielder Chris Rotelli scored to tie the game at 8-8 with 5:18 remaining, Bross won the ensuing face-off, raced down the field and deposited the ball into the Virginia goal five seconds later.
Bross, however, was not even expecting to shoot.
"Absolutely not," Bross said. "Usually I dump it off, but no one was open. So, I was like, 'I'm shooting.'
"All the seniors played their butts off today," a humble Bross added. "I'm just glad that I could help win the game."
His teammates were not so reserved in their praise for the gritty co-captain.
"Scott Bross was phenomenal," Duke co-captain Hunter Henry said. "He's the most dominant player in the game right now. He controls the flow of the game."
Bross's performance also earned the admiration of Virginia coach Dom Starsi, who showed no surprise at Bross's dominant face-off performance.
"He's one of the best guys in the country; there's a reason for that," Starsi said. "Today, he was probably Duke's best player overall."
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