Through a pair of ACC games, the Blue Devils have experienced the emotional roller coaster that has epitomized their season to date.
But after splitting a pair of overtime decisions with Syracuse and North Carolina at home the past two weekends, Duke now hits the road for arguably its toughest test of the season.
For the third time in as many weeks, the Blue Devils will take on a ranked ACC opponent, this time visiting No. 1 Notre Dame at noon Sunday at Arlotta Stadium in South Bend, Ind. Although No. 13 Duke hung tough with the Fighting Irish last season—going 1-1 against Notre Dame in 2015—the Blue Devils will have their hands full with this year's top-ranked squad, which is also the third-best defensive unit in the nation with just 6.6 goals allowed per game.
After a heartbreaking 17-16 defeat to the then-No. 15 Tar Heels last Friday, Duke will need to collect itself if it wants to pick up a critical win with just three games remaining before postseason play begins.
"You have no choice [but to move forward]," Duke head coach John Danowski said. "In life, you get knocked down. We got knocked back and we have no choice but to get up."
With a deep and talented offensive unit, the Blue Devils (7-5, 1-1 in the ACC) have had no problem scoring—ranking second in the country with 14.5 goals per game, led by 51 points from senior midfielder Myles Jones.
But the defensive end of their game has been an entirely different story.
Duke has given up 10.4 goals per game on the season—worst among all ACC teams—and allowed 32 goals in its last two games. Despite goalkeeper Danny Fowler's nine saves per game, the Blue Devils' defensive corps have failed to help him protect the Duke net.
“For the first couple of practices after the [North Carolina] game, we had our defense camp where we got back to basics," Jones said. "We started from scratch, made sure everyone knew the fundamentals—the simple pieces of our defense—so that we can put [them] together and make it a whole piece."
With veteran defenders—including seniors Jamie Ikeda and Chris Coady—the Blue Devils have the parts to make up a productive unit. Yet, their on-field performances thus far have not shown signs of being the experienced group that Duke needs.
"Defensively, we need to get better," Danowski said. "I don’t think we’re that far off. I think it’s a multitude of different things, whether sometimes it’s an individual getting beat, sometimes it’s decision-making, sometimes it’s lack of communication, but we’re working on improving all three areas. If we can get a little bit better—we don’t have to get a lot better—we’ll be more competitive.”
Unlike the Blue Devils, Notre Dame (7-1, 2-0) has put together a strong defensive group led by goalkeeper Shane Doss. Backed by their upperclassman trio of defensemen—Jack Sheridan, Edwin Glazener and Matt Landis—the Fighting Irish have limited opponents to just 29.1 shots per game and forced 72 turnovers.
With three years of past matchups against Duke, the Notre Dame back line will likely be ready for the Blue Devils' offensive arsenal. A series of offensive adjustments from Danowski could, however, throw a wrinkle into the Fighting Irish's plans come Sunday.
"Those guys know what the task at hand is and it comes down to execution," Jones said. "We can give them a quiz and they’ll know everything, but when it comes to on-field execution, that on-field performance is what we’re looking for [from ourselves] this week.”
Even though Sunday's game represents a major opportunity for Duke to get back on track, the Blue Devils' head coach does not feel as if it is a must-win in what has very much been an up-and-down season for his team.
"It is what it is," Danowski said. "It’s Duke-Notre Dame—they got us pretty good here last year at home and we played pretty well [against them] in the ACC semifinals, so it’s the next game."
Jones—the first overall pick in this year's Major League Lacrosse draft and the Blue Devils' senior leader—though, feels otherwise.
"Definitely it’s a must-win game," Jones said. "We’ve kind of dropped the ball on three opportunities in the middle of the season and we know what it’s like to have our backs against the wall."
Seth Johnson contributed reporting.
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Twitter: @mpgladstone13
A junior from just outside Philadelphia, Mitchell is probably reminding you how the Eagles won the Super Bowl this year and that the Phillies are definitely on the rebound. Outside of The Chronicle, he majors in Economics, minors in Statistics and is working toward the PJMS certificate, in addition to playing trombone in the Duke University Marching Band. And if you're getting him a sandwich with beef and cheese outside the state of Pennsylvania, you best not call it a "Philly cheesesteak."