After bowing out in the ACC semifinals last weekend against Notre Dame at Koskinen Stadium, Duke will head north to solidify its case to host another postseason game in the NCAA tournament.
The sixth-ranked Blue Devils will face No. 20 Boston University Sunday afternoon at 1 at Bethpage High School in Bethpage, N.Y. This is the fourth year in a row the two teams have faced off in the regular-season finale, with Duke winning each of the first three meetings by at least five goals, but it is the first time the matchup has moved to a neutral field.
Blue Devil head coach John Danowski's daughter teaches at Bethpage High School, and Danowski and his son—assistant coach Matt Danowski—both grew up in the area. Ten players on Duke's roster are also from New York, by far the most of any state.
The Blue Devils (11-4) and Terriers are both top-10 scoring defenses nationally that have proven the ability to win games in single digits this season. Duke mustered a season-low six goals in its loss to the Fighting Irish in the ACC tournament, but has held four of its last five opponents to eight goals or fewer. Sophomore Cade Van Raaphorst has contained some of the top attackmen in the nation this season to lead a defensive unit that also includes senior Brian Dunne and JT Giles-Harris.
Van Raaphorst will likely draw the assignment on senior Cal Dearth, who leads Boston University in both goals and assists and has 54 points.
The Terriers (12-4) slumped in the month of April, going 3-3 with two narrow overtime victories and allowing five of their six opponents to reach double digits on the scoreboard, but will certainly be hungry for a signature win to strengthen a shaky NCAA tournament resume. The Terriers have defeated ranked opponents Loyola and Navy but still do not have a top-10 win.
Goalkeeper Christian Carson-Banister saves 59.4 percent of the shots he faces—the third-best mark in the nation—to lead Boston University on the defensive end, and senior Dominick Calisto is in the top 20 in the country with 1.6 caused turnovers per game.
The Terriers have not had to face a two-headed monster quite like Duke's tandem of senior Jack Bruckner and junior Justin Guterding, though. Bruckner and Guterding are one of just two pairs of teammates in the country that have each scored at least 40 goals this season, and both prolific scorers have 10 goals in the Blue Devils' last three games.
A win for the Blue Devils would likely put them in the top eight to finish the regular-season, in line to host a game in the first round of the NCAA tournament next weekend. The tournament selection show will be Sunday night at 9 on ESPNU after the game ends.
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