Entering the 2010 season as the consensus No. 2 preseason team, Duke is still seeking an identity.
The program’s meteoric rise in the past decade has been more pronounced than that of any other Division I program, yet the Blue Devils are still searching for their first national championship. Duke has come painfully close at times, including one-goal losses to Johns Hopkins in the 2005 and 2007 national championship games and a one-goal national semifinal loss to the same Blue Jays in 2008. As it stands, Duke remains the only program reliably ranked among the top five teams without a national championship to its name.
Despite the team’s rise and its current standing as one of the nation’s elite teams—alongside such historically great programs as Johns Hopkins and Syracuse—none of the Blue Devils seem content with past results.
“We’ve had the Final Four appearances and no one is satisfied with that,” said junior attackman Zach Howell, who had a breakthrough season last year with 29 goals and 48 points. “We’re about winning national championships. Our goal is to bring the school its first national championship in men’s lacrosse, and that’s been our goal the past few years.”
Last year, Duke recovered nicely from an uncharacteristic 3-3 start—“growing pains,” according to attackman Ned Crotty—to win its third straight ACC Tournament championship and make a return visit to the Final Four in Foxborough, Mass. The season ended abruptly when eventual national champion Syracuse decisively won 17-7 in the national semifinals, ending the Blue Devils’ most recent title hopes.
Duke has already won its opener this year, a 12-11 overtime over No. 19 Bucknell, but the memory of that defeat to the Orange is still fresh in the Blue Devils’ minds.
“Having that bad of a loss is definitely a humbling experience,” said Crotty, a returning Tewaaraton Trophy finalist. “It’s something you think about all summer—something you don’t forget. We definitely have a chip on our shoulder coming into this season.”
Duke figures to be led once again by its outstanding forward line, as Howell, Crotty and senior Max Quinzani form one of the most dangerous attackman threesomes in Division I lacrosse. Quinzani has accumulated an astounding 107 goals over the past two seasons, and Crotty led the country last year with 78 points. In total, Duke returns seven starters from last year’s team and leads the nation with seven players on the three preseason All-American teams. Crotty and defensemen Parker McKee and Mike Manley lead the bunch, as all three were voted first-team preseason All-Americans.
The Blue Devils feature 16 fourth- or fifth-year seniors, and each one has been battle-tested by multiple trips to the Final Four.
“Having the big-game experience of playing in semifinals and championship games is huge,” Crotty said. “I think the best thing we have going for us right now is our experience. We have 16 guys where this year is their last opportunity to win a championship. I think that motivation is our most useful tool going into the season.”
The main source of concern for Duke in 2010 involves the situation between the pipes. With Rob Schroeder gone, head coach John Danowski faces his first season at Duke without a proven, reliable goalie. Junior Mike Rock and freshman Dan Wigrizer look to be the two most likely replacements—and Wigrizer played the full 60 minutes against the Bison last weekend—but neither has any previous playing experience for the Blue Devils. Seniors Devon Sherwood and Max Wygod look to factor into the mix as well, making the Duke goalie situation unclear.
“Some guy’s got to grab the spot,” Danowski said. “It’s going to be a dogfight, and perhaps we’ll alternate guys. We’ll do whatever we need to be successful.”
Goalkeeping aside, Duke is a veteran team with outstanding depth and senior leadership. Co-captained by Crotty, Quinzani, McKee and face-off specialist Sam Payton, the 2010 Blue Devils seem poised to build upon their past Final Four letdowns and hone in on the program’s elusive first title.
Only seven schools have won a men’s lacrosse championship since the first NCAA Tournament was held in 1971, and Duke once again stands a good chance of becoming the eighth member of the exclusive club.
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