When the players take the field in Wauwatosa, Wis., this weekend, there will be more than just a lacrosse game at the focal point of the action. Instead, two programs will stand united against cancer, despite the fierce competition that will erupt once the first whistle sounds.
No. 6 Duke will compete in the first annual HEAD Coaches Classic at 2 p.m. Saturday against No. 15 Marquette at Hart Park. The HEADstrong Foundation will sponsor the event in honor of its founder, Nicholas Colleluori, and in support of cancer research. Colleluori—who was recruited and coached by Duke head coach John Danowski and Marquette head coach Joe Amplo at Hofstra University—passed away in November 2006 ago after a 14-month long battle with blood cancer.
“Nick was a classic overachiever,” Danowski said. “He did not fear anybody. He played hard and he wasn’t as athletic or as strong, but he was as tough and determined as anyone. He taught me that you don’t have to be the biggest, the fastest or the strongest as long as you’ve got a big heart and tremendous passion for what you’re doing.”
In honor of Colleluori and his battle against cancer, players on both teams will wear lime green shoelaces and chinstraps—the awareness color for non-Hodgkin lymphoma—and the goals will have lime green nets as well.
“The Colleluori family has already raised somewhere near $6 million on behalf of research,” Danowski said. “It’s something that is really important to both [Coach Amplo and myself]. [Nicholas Colleluori’s] mom will be there and will actually address the crowd for a couple of minutes before the game.”
With a greater cause than winning or losing on their minds, the Blue Devils (9-4) have to prepare themselves to finish off their third game in seven days. As the school year winds down and the ACC tournament looms on the horizon, Duke will have to keep things in perspective to continue its recent success on the field.
After a rare midweek showdown against No. 16 Stony Brook Wednesday night— which ended in a 17-11 rout in favor of the Blue Devils—the team will have to remain focused on the game ahead to build on its current two-game winning streak.
“The focus this week up until Wednesday was on Stony Brook and nothing else,” Danowski said. “Now the focus is on Marquette. We do have to talk a little bit in global perspective in terms of LDOC coming up on Wednesday and then reading days and then exams. Because we are traveling these two games, the guys have to really be highly organized and manage their time…. In terms of lacrosse, it’s just one day at a time.”
Fortunately for Duke, the team seems to be peaking at just the right time. After dropping three straight games to ACC opponents, the team has turned its luck around with strong showings in both of its last two contests.
Last weekend against then-No. 6 Virginia, six different Blue Devils found the back of the net. Wednesday against Stony Brook, five players registered hat tricks. With the starting attack playing in its fifth game together, junior Case Matheis, sophomore Jack Bruckner—who has 12 goals in his past two games—and freshman Justin Guterding are beginning to feel comfortable in the offense, which has Danowski feeling optimistic moving forward.
“We’re just starting to see glimpses of what the possibilities are for those guys,” he said.
But the Golden Eagles (10-3) will not just let Duke take the field and rip the back of the lime green nets all afternoon. The tough defense of redshirt junior long-stick midfielder Liam Byrnes stands in the way of another victory. Last week’s Big East Defensive Player of the Week is poised to give the Blue Devil offense problems after registering one goal, two assists, 11 ground balls and six forced turnovers in his last two games.
Duke will look to spread the ball around to break through Marquette’s defensive scheme. By exploiting passing lanes and making the second pass instead of forcing a shot, the Blue Devils will attempt to score despite Byrnes’s recent success.
“[To have] somebody who initiates a play and draws a slide and is able to move the ball unselfishly to the person who gets the assist, that to us is more important than the person who gets the assist or even the person who scores the goal,” Danowski said.
That pursuit of unselfishness and determination echoes the sentiment of the weekend. By standing united as a team, supporting one another and making the unselfish plays, Duke presents a formidable challenge for Marquette. But whatever challenge may come from either team on the field, both teams will join together in honor of Nicholas Colleluori and pose their own challenge to cancer.
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