Duke’s offensive explosion in the second period of Sunday’s game was unlike anything senior Zach Howell had been a part of in his four-year collegiate career.
“We were able to move it and find the open man,” Howell said. “It was some of the best ball movement we’ve had up to date.”
Led by an eruption of 10 goals in the second period, the No. 7 Blue Devils defeated Dartmouth 18-10 Sunday afternoon at Koskinen Stadium. The quarter was highlighted by a stretch in which Duke scored seven goals in slightly over four minutes.
After the Blue Devils (6-2) jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead, when Robert Rotanz put one into the back of the net 1:10 into the game, the Big Green responded with the game’s next two goals. This lead was only momentary, however, as Duke notched 12 of the game’s next 13 tallies.
Head coach John Danowski cited his team’s youth and lack of experience dealing with Dartmouth’s complicated defensive schemes when explaining why it took the Blue Devils a little time to get into the rhythm of the game.
“We have to remember we have two freshmen on attack, a sophomore on first midfield, two sophomores on second midfield, and guys who played defensive midfield last year, so this is their first time playing extended zone offense,” Danowski said. “It does take a while, and it’s a good learning experience.”
With a comfortable 14-4 halftime lead, the starters were able to rest for much of the third and fourth periods. Howell led Duke with three goals, all of which came in the first half. Overall, the scoring was evenly spread with 13 different players finding the back of the net.
The Blue Devils’ dominance in the second period all but assured a win, and they seemingly went on cruise control in the second half. In the final two periods, they were outscored 6-4 while turning the ball over 12 times. The Big Green (3-2) had 12 turnovers for the entire game.
“I was really disappointed in the second half. We played a lot of people in the second half, but the expectation is that you play the right way,” Danowski said. “We went offsides, committed bad penalties—I was disappointed, and we certainly discussed that after the game.”
The victory moves Duke to 14-0 all-time against Dartmouth and to 1-1 on the season against Ivy League opponents. The Blue Devils fell earlier in the season in a disappointing loss to Pennsylvania.
“The Penn game always lingers with us, because that’s the point in the season where we looked at ourselves and had to figure out what we needed to do to right the ship,” Howell said. “[Playing] another Ivy League opponent brings back those feelings.”
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