Although classes may not be in session, the Blue Devils never stop.
No. 5 Duke will travel north to the Washington Saturday for a noon faceoff against Georgetown at Multi-Sport Field. With day-to-day routines in a lull for spring break, the squad is taking the opportunity to develop before conference play gears up in the coming weeks.
“We work a lot harder,” head coach John Danowski said. “We spend a lot of time together and we play a lot of lacrosse. It’s a bonding opportunity for us.”
The Blue Devils (6-1) are riding a four-game winning streak into the weekend. After capturing a 14-8 victory against then-No. 14 Loyola last week—propelled by a strong 7-0 run finish the second half—the squad is sticking to a regular routine to stay focused on the game ahead.
Consistency is a major focus for Duke in preparing for the Hoyas this weekend. For Danowski, success Saturday lies in treating every game as an opportunity to learn and build, especially when the occasion to focus solely on lacrosse arises—the chance spring break affords.
“We say the same thing every week,” Danowski said. “It’s really a broken record, but it’s winning faceoffs, being successful offensively and getting a lead so people will play a little bit faster than they want to. We need to win our battles—our individual battles—but then when you don’t win battles, [we need to] be able to slide properly and defend behind the ball.”
The Blue Devils will be short-handed for the tilt, however. After scoring three goals and adding one assist against Loyola, junior attackman Case Matheis will be sidelined due to injury—a seemingly common trend as of late.
“We have played without him a bunch already,” Danowski said. “We played without him against Harvard and against Providence and against Mercer—last year I think he missed the first three or four games of the season—so that’s not been unusual for us. The next guy just steps up.”
The next guy will definitely have to step up against Georgetown (4-2), which is riding a hot streak of its own heading into Saturday. After dropping its first two games of the year, the Hoyas have rebounded with four straight wins and earned an 18-10 victory against Vermont Tuesday.
Like Duke, Georgetown relied on a 7-0 scoring run to capture their latest victory. The matchup sets up a unique second half dynamic, with both teams turning on the jets in the second period to put away opponents.
The Blue Devils are not looking to underestimate their opponent, however—just because the home squad is unranked and has two losses does not mean that it can be overlooked.
“They are excellent,” Danowski said. “I’m very impressed with them on film. I love the way they play offense. They understand the game. Matt Rewkowski is one of their assistant coaches—he seems to be doing a great job with them. They have great spacing and they play very simply and they play fast. They are going to present a great challenge.”
A part of the challenge for Duke will be the two-headed attack of seniors Bo Stafford and Reilly O’Connor. So far this season, Stafford and O’Connor have tallied 22 and 20 points, respectively, to lead the offensive assault for Georgetown.
The Blue Devil defense—led by senior defensive midfielder Will Haus—and junior goalie Luke Aaron will have its hands full keeping the Hoyas’ shots out of the back of the net. With 85.2 percent of O’Connor’s goals being on target this season, Aaron will have to add to his 69 saves to give the visitors the win.
Although Georgetown marks the last matchup before conference play opens the following weekend in Syracuse, N.Y., against the top-ranked Orange, Danowski has his team focusing on this weekend and taking things one game at a time.
“It’s the next great opportunity for our team,” Danowski said. “We should be well rested and well fed, so it’s another great opportunity. As a Division I lacrosse player you only get 16 of these opportunities a year. Every one is special and every one is important.”
Ryan Hoerger contributed reporting.
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