It may have come later in the season than anticipated, but Duke was finally able to earn a victory against Stony Brook.
After their originally scheduled matchup in February was cancelled due to inclement weather, the No. 6 Blue Devils defeated the No. 20 Seawolves 17-11 Wednesday at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium. Duke utilized an 8-0 run spanning 12 minutes in the first two quarters to gain their ninth victory of the season.
It was a back-and-forth start to the game, with both teams exchanging goals early. Stony Brook led 3-2 with five minutes remaining in the opening quarter, but the Blue Devils used a barrage of goals to go up 6-3 after the first period.
Duke (9-4) picked up right where it left off in the second quarter, winning the first three faceoffs and scoring two goals off of them to bring the score to 8-3. The offense continued to pick the Seawolves (10-4) apart with two well-executed goals by junior Case Matheis and sophomore Jack Bruckner that pushed the team’s lead to 10-3. Stony Brook finally ended the Blue Devils’ 8-0 run with 5:19 left in the second quarter, as junior attackman Brody Eastwood ended the 15-minute scoring drought with a pair of goals.
Although the team’s offensive execution was practically flawless during the 8-0 run, the dominant stretch was fueled by a perfect performance at the faceoff X. During the run, brothers Kyle and Jack Rowe won a combined nine straight faceoffs—a streak that was broken only after a violation by Jack. With such an outstanding display at the faceoff X, Stony Brook barely had the opportunity to get going on offense.
Duke looked to be in control after that, but it let the Seawolves right back into the game at the end of the second quarter. The Blue Devils’ seven-goal advantage quickly shrunk to two, as Stony Brook closed the half on an impressive five-goal run to head into the locker room trailing just 10-8.
“When it was 10-4 and they made that run, it didn’t surprise me,” Duke head coach John Danowski said. “They’ve got some really talented players and they’re very well coached.”
Whatever momentum the Seawolves had heading into halftime didn’t carry over into the second half. Duke was able to reassert itself in the third quarter, winning the session 5-2 to take a 15-10 lead heading into the final period.
Stony Brook looked to get back into the game, scoring early in the fourth to make the score 15-11, but the Blue Devil defense was razor-sharp for the remainder of the quarter, holding Stony Brook scoreless for the final 14 minutes despite the fact that the Seawolves held possession for most of the rest of the game.
Goals by junior midfielders Deemer Class and Myles Jones—who both finished the day with three goals and two assists—allowed Duke to extend the lead and finish the game with a final score of 17-11.
The victory marks the team’s second in a row following a three-game losing streak and featured impressive performances in several areas. The Rowe brothers were completely dominant at the faceoff, winning 23 of 32. Bruckner continued his strong play on offense—adding another five goals following a seven-goal performance against Virginia—and Matheis looks to be back to his best after scoring three goals and adding three assists.
The team’s defense, barring its minor meltdown at the end of second quarter, was solid throughout the game, limiting Eastwood—the nation’s leading scorer who began the game with 51 goals—to just two goals on the day.
The Blue Devils will look to keep their momentum going when they hit the road to face Marquette Saturday at 1 p.m. in their final game of the regular season before postseason play begins April 24 with the ACC tournament.
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