Down by just two goals at halftime, High Point didn’t look like a brand-new program that took the field for its first season in 2013. But the Panthers’ ability to keep pace with the Blue Devils quickly diminished after the break.
No. 9 Duke’s second-half surge exposed High Point’s inexperience on both ends of the field and propelled the Blue Devils to a 17-6 victory at Koskinen Stadium.
“We couldn’t win faceoffs in the third quarter, and [Duke] went on a nice, long run there,” High Point head coach Jon Torpey said. “That’s a great team and a great measuring stick for our guys to see where they need to be. But I’m very pleased with their effort. Our guys didn’t stop fighting the whole time, and that’s the mentality we like to take on.”
The opening half was a back-and-forth affair, with the Panthers (3-9) never trailing by more than three goals. Despite taking fewer than half as many shots as the Blue Devils (9-4) in the first two periods, High Point headed into the locker room within two tallies.
“[The game] was going up and down,” Duke freshman Case Matheis said. “We had a lot of opportunities, and sometimes they didn’t fall.”
The Blue Devils broke the game open in the third quarter, rattling off eight consecutive goals. With a 1-of-10 performance at the faceoff X, the Panthers had virtually no possession in the third period.
In addition to Duke’s dominance in faceoffs, Blue Devil head coach John Danowski praised his team on its overhand shots, ball-sharing and ability to finish. Matheis attributed Duke’s elevated level of play to the pep talk in the locker room given by the Blue Devil staff.
“At halftime, the coaches gave us a speech saying that we have to play Duke lacrosse and play fundamentally right, and that if we do that things will take care of themselves,” Matheis said. “So we came out, played Duke lacrosse and played like we knew how to.”
Matheis, who led the Blue Devils in points with two goals and three assists, kicked off the scoring 35 seconds into the game. The freshman followed that up 30 seconds later with a dish to senior Bill Conners, who netted a goal to give Duke a 2-0 lead.
High Point freshman Dan Lomas—the Panthers’ leading scorer—quickly responded, scoring the first of his team-high three goals. Behind two tallies from freshman Michael Messenger and outstanding play by redshirt sophomore goaltender Austin Geisler, the Panthers stayed in the game for the opening half.
Firing a season-high 32 shots in the first half, the Blue Devils attacked the goal relentlessly, but Geisler staved off Duke’s offense with 13 saves. The redshirt sophomore saved a shot with his legs as time expired in the first quarter and recorded a crucial stop with nine seconds remaining in the second period.
The Blue Devils started the second half in explosive fashion, opening up the game with an 8-0 run that ended with a goal from Lomas. After Duke struck again 49 seconds into the final quarter, Geisler was pulled out of the game.
With 31 freshmen and just nine sophomores, juniors and seniors on their roster, the Panthers were no match for the Blue Devils’ veteran-heavy squad. Seven of Duke’s eight unanswered goals were scored by upperclassmen.
“Depth helped us in that third quarter,” Danowski said.
Geisler’s removal from the game didn’t make matters any better for High Point, which gave up three goals in the final period while only scoring one of its own. The Panthers outshot the Blue Devils 11-9 in the fourth quarter, but the shots didn’t fall, dooming High Point to its ninth loss of the season.
“[High Point] battled,” Danowski said. “I thought their coaching staff did a terrific job, and they’re going to be a great program going forward.”
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