Despite playing at a neutral site, Blue Devil standouts Myles Jones and Justin Guterding will be right at home Saturday afternoon.
When No. 4 Duke travels to take on No. 12 Harvard at James M. Shuart Stadium in Hempstead, N.Y., at 3 p.m., Jones and Guterdingwill not be the only players used to the area. Both teams have eight players hailing from Long Island, and there will be a lot of friends and families for both sides in a region characterized as a lacrosse hotbed.
The Crimson are paced by Tewaaraton Watch List members and Long Island products in attackman Devin Dwyer—who leads the team with 10 goals and nine assists—and defenseman Stephen Jahelka.
“[Harvard] may be the top team in the in the country…They’re a high-character team. They play very hard and poised for four quarters—they have 15 seniors,” Duke head coach John Danowski said. “They play hard and they believe in each other.”
Harvard (3-0) has been battle-tested early in the season, prevailing in overtime in all three of its contests. With the veteran experience on the Crimson sideline, the overtime victories should not come as a surprise. For a Blue Devil team playing through a stretch of four games in 10 days, Harvard's familiarity with being in down-to-the-wire situations could spell trouble for Duke (4-1).
A question mark entering the contest for both teams centers on the faceoff circle, after Duke’s faceoff expert, Kyle Rowe, missed Monday’s 19-9 victory against Mercer with a lower-body injury. Junior midfielder Teddy Henderson filled in admirably for Rowe, winning 15 of 20 from the X. But the Crimson are not without their own problems from the faceoff circle, as they have won only 34.2 percent of draws this season.
When Harvard has the ball, though, it can be dangerous. With Dwyer—one of the best attackmen in the nation—playing close to home, the Blue Devils can ill-afford to give the Garden City, N.Y., native open opportunities to allow Harvard to ignite the crowd.
“We think Harvard’s attack is dynamite...[Dwyer] is a four-year starter,” Danowski said. “He is crafty and smart, and he’s a terrific player—he could be a Tewaarton winner.”
The dynamic midfield duo of Jones and senior Deemer Class will be tasked with matching Dwyer's productivity at the other end. With Guterding and fellow attackman Case Matheis up front, Duke’s attack ranks second in the nation in goals per game with an average of 15.8 tallies per contest. Last season, the Crimson had no answer for the Blue Devil offense in Durham, as Duke put up 21 goals, led by Guterding’s six goals and three assists. The Garden City, N.Y., native has picked up right where he left off to start the season, as he is tied for the team-lead at 22 points with Matheis, and is only eight points away from 100 for his career.
Guterding has plenty of familiarity with the Harvard squad, playing at various times at Garden City High School with five different Crimson players, including Dwyer, Jahelka and team captain Sean Mahon. But Harvard still has to figure out how to stop Jones, a matchup nightmare at 6-foot-5, 240 pounds. The Huntington, N.Y., native reached the 100-goal milestone last weekend against Jacksonville, becoming the first Duke midfielder to do so. Class is not far behind, needing just one more goal to put his name in the record books next to Jones.
Last season, in their only matchup on Long Island, the Blue Devils prevailed against Stony Brook 17-11, and Jones and Class both registered three goals and two assists. They will try to make their mark on the game again Saturday, though they will have to find ways to score the ball against the fearsome defensive duo of Jahelka and Bobby Duvnjak, who is also from Long Island.
“Last year, it was all fun. I got a bunch of people that I was really excited to see,” Jones said. “I know a lot of people are coming that have high expectations and are coming to see a good game, so I’m going to keep doing what I’ve always done—let the game come to me, play one play at a time, one moment at a time and hopefully all the chips fall as they may.”
Ryan Hoerger contributed reporting.
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