Hot off the heels of a dominant offensive showing, the Blue Devils hope to avoid the web of the nation’s best defense on the road this weekend.
No. 20 Duke takes on No. 12 Richmond at Robins Stadium in Richmond, Va., Sunday at noon as it hopes to avenge a 2016 home loss to the Spiders. The Blue Devils are a week removed from a 16-3 victory against St. Joseph’s in which 11 different players scored, but now face the challenge of playing an undefeated team on the road.
After early-season losses to then-No. 17 Air Force and top-ranked Denver, Duke is seeking its first win against a ranked team.
“We’re trying to get better at everything we do, that’s for sure,” Blue Devil head coach John Danowski said. “Richmond poses, statistically, perhaps the best defense in the country, the best man-down defense in the country. They beat us last year at home.... They’re used to being successful.”
With the top-ranked scoring defense in the country led by senior goalkeeper Benny Pugh, the Spiders (4-0) allow just 4.3 goals per game. Pugh—recently named to the Tewaaraton Award watch list alongside Duke stars Jack Bruckner and Justin Guterding—makes almost 13 saves per game, good for 11th in the nation.
It was that same defense that shut the Blue Devils (3-2) down last season at Koskinen Stadium. Despite facing a narrow deficit going into the fourth quarter, Richmond shut Duke out in the final period to snatch what is now considered a program-defining win. The chief issue for the Blue Devils this season is that only two members of that more experienced offense that got stonewalled a year ago have returned to Durham for the 2017 campaign.
Guterding and Bruckner, the aforementioned returning starters, key a unit relying on heavy contributions from its freshmen. Rookies Kevin Quigley and Reilly Walsh have both made noise on the offensive end, ranking tied for fifth and tied for seventh on the team, respectively, in total points through five games. Quigley and Walsh will likely have to take on a larger role against the Spiders as Richmond aggressively tries to slow down Guterding and Bruckner—far and away the team’s leaders in total offense.
“Defensively, they are very unselfish,” Danowski said. “Teams that want to win will be more unselfish this weekend. So that means that we’re going to have to play really well individually, in terms of winning battles, and really well as a team defensively. Offensively, we’re going to have to share the ball.”
Duke allowed Air Force to go on a 5-0 run in 14:28 spanning the end of the third and start of the fourth periods in the season opener, then could only watch as Denver dominated possession to close the matchup on a 6-1 run.
Fortunately for the Blue Devils, the defense appears to have rounded into form. After allowing 11 goals in the loss to Air Force, Duke has allowed just more than seven goals per game since then. Blue Devil sophomore defender Cade Van Raaphorst was key in holding St. Joseph’s to just three tallies last weekend, earning ACC Defender of the Week accolades.
The defense’s ability to shut down a Richmond team ranked in the middle of the road in total offense will prove key, as Duke is in for a battle in every other phase of the game. The Spiders are top 10 in both clearing percentage as well as faceoff win percentage, playing even the lacrosse equivalents of special teams well. The Blue Devils will have to contend with Richmond’s 10-man ride, analogous to fullcourt pressure, to even get the ball back into the offensive half of the field.
In addition to contending with Richmond stars Ryan Lee and Teddy Hatfield—who have combined for 23 goals and 12 assists this year for numbers that rival Guterding and Bruckner’s—senior goalkeeper Danny Fowler will also have to do the little things well Sunday.
“Our emphasis [playing the 10-man ride this week] has been one, but we’re also focused on playing really good team defense, but then offensively we’re looking to be able to have really good spacing,” Danowski said.
Duke will follow this weekend’s trip to Richmond with another top-20 matchup at home against No. 11 Loyola, the team that eliminated Duke in the first round of the NCAA tournament a year ago.
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