In last year's matchup, Duke and Georgetown combined for 10 goals in the Blue Devils' 6-4 victory, the lowest amount of total offense in any of Duke's games.
In eight contests this year, however, the Blue Devils' offense has averaged 17.4 scores per game, and has yet to register less than 15 goals in any contest. No. 1 Duke (8-0) looks to keep up its high-paced offensive attack against the No. 10 Hoyas Saturday at 11 a.m. in Washington, D.C.
Not surprisingly, Duke is expecting Georgetown (3-2) to once again aim to keep the game on the lower end of the scoring spectrum.
"That's probably going to be more of their goal than ours," senior Zack Greer said. "Obviously, we like to score more goals than six. We've just got to come in ready to play and be ready for whatever they throw at us defensively. We know our defense is going to do its job, so we've got to start putting more balls in the net."
That hasn't been a problem so far this season for the Blue Devils. Four different players have scored 15 or more goals, led by Max Quinzani's 25. In 2007, the Hoyas frustrated Duke's offense by shutting down Matt Danowski with the long stick. That strategy-which the Blue Devils had not seen before-combined with goalie Miles Kass' stellar play to contribute to the season-low scoring output.
Duke's balanced attack should pay dividends Saturday. Unlike last season, Georgetown will not be able to stop the Blue Devils by simply shutting down Danowski or Greer.
"We're a different team this year going into this game than we were last year," head coach John Danowski said. "The fact that we've also played eight games is really helpful. We have more experience and more people with more confidence, especially the midfield. We're able to share the ball, and we expect production out of a lot of different people, not just one or two."
The team also may be able to get its offense going early by capitalizing on Georgetown's faceoff deficiencies. The Hoyas win just 42.1 percent of their faceoffs-compared to the Blue Devils' 57.4 percent success rate-and Duke is hoping to get an emotional lift and some extra possessions by winning draws.
"[Winning faceoffs] is a goal of ours every game," Greer said. "Especially against a team that's not doing as well, we'd like to capitalize on that. We get a lot of our offense from transition off the faceoff and ground balls."
Even though they are expecting a better offensive performance this time, the Blue Devils are still looking to keep the Hoyas' attack grounded for as long as possible. Georgetown averages 11.6 goals per game this season.
The Hoyas are also coming off a 13-12 double-overtime win over Hobart March 15. Duke does not want them to be able to carry over momentum into this televised contest.
"They're a very emotional team," senior goalie Dan Loftus said. "Duke-Georgetown is always a really good game, and it's going to be really important to keep them off the board early. As long as we do that, I think it should go well."
Loftus will key the defensive effort and has provided a solid presence in the cage for Duke, leading the ACC in goals-against average and save percentage at 5.73 and .684, respectively. He also took home ACC Player of the Week honors Monday after notching 15 saves in a 19-9 win over North Carolina March 15.
If the Blue Devils are going to repeat their success in the nation's capital, however, it will likely come down to whether they can continue their 2008 scoring output and exorcise their offensive demons from a year ago.
"Defensively, we had a great effort [in last season's game]," Danowski said. "But to keep a high-scoring team like that down to four goals is unrealistic. We're going to have to do better offensively."
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