The Blue Devils entered the season concerned about offensive chemistry with a slew of new starters.
But anyone who watched Saturday's hot start would probably say such worries were overstated.
No. 18 Duke took down Saint Joseph’s 16-3 at Koskinen Stadium to move back above .500 following last week’s 14-9 loss at No. 1 Denver. The Blue Devils turned in a poised performance from the opening whistle, as they scored three goals on three shots in less than two minutes to open the game and never looked back.
“We tried to run a little bit [this past week],” Duke head coach John Danowski said. "We tried to get out, play really good defense obviously, and then push the ball. The first couple of goals there... we were pushing the ball, trying to up the tempo a little bit and just trying to have some fun."
Veterans and newcomers alike made their mark on the scoresheet as 10 different Duke players scored at least one goal in the first half, led by senior attackman Jack Bruckner’s four points. As usual, junior Justin Guterding was the engine of the offense in the early action, assisting on the first two goals to spot the Blue Devils (3-2) their early lead.
From that point forward, straightforward execution turned the game into a blowout early on. Duke managed to score in the six-on-six offense as well as picture-perfect fast break passes and shots after faceoff wins and clears. Freshman Terry Lindsay may have had the best looking goal of the Blue Devils’ young season when the Washington native received a quick pass at the top of the box from Bruckner and stepped down to beat Saint Joseph’s goalkeeper T.J. Jones high.
The potential catalyst for the offensive explosion was the introduction of junior Mitch Russell to the starting lineup. A versatile offensive player capable of playing both attack and midfield, Russell scored two goals and quarterbacked the attack unit well from behind the cage, finding open spaces in the Hawk defense.
After Saint Joseph's (0-3) ended a 6-0 Blue Devil run with 6:33 left in the second period, Russell responded a little more than a minute later.
"Mitch is a junior and he's really worked hard," Danowski said. "He's worked hard in the weight room, he's worked hard at practice and he's done an unbelievable job. We're delighted that Mitch scored twice today and he's gaining confidence and gaining experience himself."
The Duke defense proved equally dominant, allowing just two in the first half. Goalkeeper Danny Fowler made all the saves expected of the senior to keep the Hawks from staying in the game. The lone offensive saving grace for Saint Joseph’s was the play of Kevin Reidinger. The senior scored both of his team’s goals in the first half to provide the only consistent source of offense for a team that simply could not maintain possession.
Throughout the second half, the Blue Devils were content to merely hang onto the lead and scored just one goal in the third quarter thanks to a combination of sloppy passes, a slowed pace of play and defensive penalties. The defense continued its excellent play and once again featured an appearance from sophomore goalkeeper Turner Uppgren to start the fourth quarter.
"I thought we got a little selfish [in the third quarter]. We lost our discipline a little bit. Their goalie made a couple of great saves and that's going to happen," Danowski said. "We took a couple of shots that our guys would like to have back. Well, we're going to tell them that they're going to have to have them back in the film session."
The final period was slightly sharper than the third as junior Sean Cerrone and freshman Reilly Walsh increased the distance between Duke and the visitors. Walsh, in particular, demonstrated the shooting prowess that earned him his coveted recruit status with three goals in the game, including a pair down the stretch.
From that point forward, Danowski turned to many of the less experienced members of the roster to run out the clock in a dominant victory.
The Blue Devils will now have a week off before taking on Richmond next Sunday on the road. The Spiders upset Duke 12-10 in Durham last year.
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