Sitting with a 2-4 record, hosting the defending national champions and playing for the first time with its backup goaltender, Duke’s outlook appeared grim when it faced Loyola March 8.
But a 9-8 victory against the then-No. 4 Greyhounds at Koskinen Stadium sparked a nine-game winning streak for the Blue Devils, elevating them back into the national rankings and postseason contention.
No. 7 seed Duke (12-5) will have to defeat Loyola (11-4) a second time on its home turf should the Blue Devils hope to reach lacrosse’s Championship Weekend for the seventh consecutive season. Duke has never beaten a reigning national champion in the NCAA Tournament in six all-time matchups.
“There’s an excited nervousness because you’re playing the defending national champions, and there’s a lot of guys back from last year’s team,” head coach John Danowski said. “It’s very difficult to play a team that you’ve beaten a second time and try to beat them again.”
The Duke attack, led by juniors Jordan Wolf and Josh Dionne, will be tasked with beating Greyhound goaltender Jack Runkel, who boasts an 8.58 goals against average and a .521 save percentage on the season. Wolf and Dionne each notched two goals against Runkel in the teams’ first matchup this season.
“In general, I think our offense has improved and our defense has improved [since the first matchup],” Wolf said. “That was a time when our backs were up against the wall. I remember the week leading up to it and how intense practice was. It definitely jump-started our run throughout the year.”
On the defensive end, the Blue Devils will be tested by Loyola’s Mike Sawyer and Justin Ward, who tallied 34 and 27 goals on the year, respectively. Ward is also the team’s leader with 30 assists.
Blue Devil netminder Kyle Turri has posted a 10-1 record since taking over as the full-time goaltender. He recorded nine saves against the Greyhounds earlier this season.
One of the key matchups in Sunday’s contest will be at the faceoff X, where ACC Defensive Player of the Year Brendan Fowler will square off with Loyola’s Blake Burkhart. Fowler ranks third in Division I with a 65.4 win percentage at the X.
“If you had asked me three years ago, I probably wouldn’t have even known who Brendan Fowler was,” Danowski said. “Brendan is hard working, played two sports here, went to a bowl game and has had a great spring here. He’s a fabulous young man.”
Burkhart has won just 48.2 percent of his draws, giving the Blue Devils a marked advantage on paper. But when the teams squared off earlier this year, it was Burkhart who won 12-of-21 faceoffs, handing Fowler his second-worst performance of the year from the X.
This is the first time Duke has been seeded lower than fifth in the last seven seasons, but Danowski said he doesn’t see his team flying under the radar.
The Blue Devil head coach also added that his team’s health could be an advantage after a year of grueling Division I lacrosse.
“We’re in the best shape we’ve been in in seven years,” Danowski said. “We have a couple people who are out but they’re out for the year. We are less nicked up than we’ve ever been and we’re delighted for that.”
Duke could also be a little less rusty than most teams in the NCAA Tournament when it takes the field Sunday. Although most programs take a week off between their conference tournaments and the NCAA Tournament, the Blue Devils traveled to Milwaukee as soon as final exams concluded and drubbed Marquette 19-3 last weekend. Loyola will be on 10 days rest after falling to Ohio State 18-11 in the ECAC Tournament.
“Having two weeks off before the first round of the tournament is not easy,” Danowski said. “[Playing Marquette] was really exciting for our guys and really good for the game. It was really good to play again.”
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