Duke takes down Heels

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — A young Blue Devil squad could have been intimidated coming into a hostile environment to face its bitter rivals.

Instead, eight players—including four who had never before played in Chapel Hill—scored Thursday night and Duke jumped out to an 8-3 halftime lead en route to a 14-9 victory, never allowing the No. 6 Tar Heels (5-2, 0-1 in the ACC) to cut the lead under three. In a game that attacker Jordan Wolf called the most intense of his young career, the freshman scored four goals to pace No. 8 Duke’s deceptively balanced effort.

“In a game like this there’s a lot of people to be recognized for small plays,” head coach John Danowski said. “There are so many guys who contribute to when you win. Everybody will look at Jordan and see he scored four goals, but it’s always more than that.”

The Blue Devils’ hustle was evident in their 36-23 advantage in ground balls collected. The number was especially impressive given Duke’s struggles at the faceoff circle, where the Tar Heels won 18-of-27 faceoffs, including 12-of-14 in the second half. The ability to corral loose balls demonstrated that, especially early in the game, Duke (5-2, 2-0) simply seemed to want the win more.

“Our team is a big ground-ball team. We only had three days to prepare for this game, but in those three days of preparation the focus was ground balls,” senior defenseman Tom Montelli said. “We know if we win the ground-ball battle for 60 minutes, we’ll be in a good position to win the game.”

The defense’s pressure and physicality prevented North Carolina’s offense from getting into a rhythm and protected sophomore goalie Dan Wigrizer—who was outstanding in his own right—from having to face too many shots on goal. Although the Tar Heels notched 40 shots, many of those were blocked or altered by Blue Devil defenders and only 20 ended up on target. In a stark contrast, Duke’s offense operated under control and methodically worked the ball into open space for good shots on goal. North Carolina goalie Chris Madalon never really had a chance against many of the Blue Devils’ shots, which came from just outside the crease. As a result, he had a save percentage of only .364 on 22 shots on goal. Only nine of the Duke’s shot attempts were off target.

Danowski was particularly pleased with the extra-man offense, which converted 3-of-6 opportunities but had been a concern going into the game.

“We’re getting a little bit better [on extra-man offense],” Danowski said. “We’re gaining confidence. We’ve got two freshmen on extra man; we have a sophomore, so that’s three [young players].... It’s about chemistry and understanding roles and what people are good at. We’ve worked hard on that the past week.”