With no class this week, the Blue Devils took some extra shots in the mornings before their regular afternoon practices.
It paid off in a big way Saturday afternoon, at Georgetown's expense.
Junior Jack Bruckner had a hat trick before the Hoyas got on the scoreboard, and the No. 11 Blue Devils ran away from Georgetown 20-6 at Koskinen Stadium. Bruckner finished with five goals and two assists, one of three Duke players with at least three tallies on the afternoon.
The Blue Devils' season-high 20 goals came on just 33 shots, an alarmingly efficient clip at more than 20 percentage points better than their season average entering Saturday's game.
"I don’t think we were exploiting anything in their defense specifically. We had shooting camp this week every day in the morning, so just all the practice we had this week really paid off," Bruckner said. "Instead of going to class, you’re going out to the field and you’re hanging out all the time."
After sophomore Justin Guterding broke the scoreless draw with 12:23 left in the first quarter, the floodgates opened for Bruckner, who fired home three goals in less than six minutes to stake Duke (6-3) to an early 4-0 lead. Georgetown (1-6) got one back on a Craig Berge strike, but the Blue Devils rattled off another 5-0 run to blow the game open with 10:22 left before halftime. Senior Deemer Class beat Hoya goalkeeper Nick Marrocco twice during that span, and Bruckner got back in the act for his fourth of the day.
Georgetown had no chance to stop the bleeding because it could not get hold of the ball. After losing five of the eight face-offs in the first quarter, specialist Kyle Rowe dominated at the faceoff X the rest of the afternoon, winning seven of eight in the decisive second quarter. The Hoyas won just two of the 20 draws in the final 45 minutes, forcing them to play defense for most of the afternoon as the Blue Devils went to work on the offensive end with methodical precision.
"It’s such an amazing gift. I can’t really describe it any other way. When you have the ball, it’s a tremendous momentum-keeper and it’s deflating for your opponent," Duke head coach John Danowski said. "We’ve been on the other side of that for sure over the years, and it’s just great when you have that going on your side where you can score a goal and then try to score again, or give up a goal and get the ball back."
Guterding—who had a hat trick of his own—and senior Case Matheis assisted on three goals apiece, and senior Myles Jones and freshman Brad Smith matched Bruckner's pair of helpers. Several Blue Devil goals came after players sent balls whizzing through heavy traffic, threading the needle perfectly to set up teammates for point-blank shot opportunities. Duke assisted on a season-high 14 of the 20 goals.
"It’s amazing. It makes my life a lot easier," Bruckner said of the unselfish passing display. "It’s awesome playing with guys like that. At Duke, you play with guys like that all the time."
On the other end, Duke clamped down to hold the Hoyas to just six goals on 33 shot attempts, with junior Danny Fowler turning aside nine shots against just three goals allowed before giving way to backup Luke Aaron. The Blue Devils struggled to clear the ball Saturday—converting on 12-of-19 opportunities and committing 22 turnovers—but held firm to negate all three of Georgetown's man-up situations.
Leading 17-2 midway through the third quarter, Duke's second midfield line started to see more action, and with 1:25 left in the game, senior Joe Kruy took the Blue Devils to the 20-goal threshold with a shot from the right side—his first of the season and the second goal of his career.
Although regulars like Bruckner and Class led the way, several others Duke players got in on the action. Senior John Shaffer notched his first goal of the season, Smith found the back of the net for the third time and Rowe scooped up a face-off and ran straight down the middle of the field to beat Marrocco for his second goal this year.
With classes back in session Monday, Duke will try to bottle up its complete 60-minute effort and rekindle the same level of energy Tuesday at 7 p.m. against Air Force at Koskinen Stadium as the Blue Devils' four-game homestand continues.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.