The most competitive lacrosse league in the country returns to Durham this weekend.
No. 3 Duke will take on No. 15 Syracuse at Koskinen Stadium Saturday at 1:30 p.m. This is the Blue Devils' first ACC matchup in 2018, and games between the Orange and the Blue Devils are historically close. Syracuse leads the series 11-6, but in the last 10 meetings, both squads are even at five wins apiece. The Blue Devils lost 12-11 in overtime in Syracuse, N.Y., last spring.
Despite Syracuse’s 14-10 loss to Rutgers last weekend, Duke head coach John Danowski has no doubts about the type of Orange team that is coming to town.
“They are highly talented. Young. Just young,” Danowski said. “But highly skilled as well. Their record is deceiving. They are much better than a 3-3 team, and they are tremendously talented.”
Syracuse’s loss at Rutgers was another game in an unpredictable season for the young Orange squad. Syracuse already has an ACC win against Virginia and will look to leverage this experience over a similarly young Blue Devil team. Redshirt sophomore attackman Stephen Rehfuss leads the way for the Orange on offense this season with 15 points. Midfielders Brendan Bomberry and Jamie Tromboli have each contributed 14 points.
On the other side of the ball, the Orange have struggled defensively. The back line has only held one opponent to fewer than 10 goals on the season and is giving up an average of 12.0 goals per game. Duke’s offense will look to exploit the soft spots of the Syracuse defensive unit.
Justin Guterding, the senior attackman leading the charge for the Blue Devils, will look to exploit these holes. Duke’s recent two-game road trip—a come-from-behind 10-8 win against Towson and a 9-3 beatdown of Cleveland State—challenged the Blue Devil attack to adapt to adversity. Guterding had eight goals and two assists to lead Duke in unfamiliar territory.
“It was probably our worst offensive outing of the year last weekend,” Danowski said. “Towson did a nice job, played a lot of zone in the second half and we struggled against their zone. [The] Cleveland State goalie made 17 saves, so he did a terrific job. We had opportunities to make plays, we just didn’t make them. But we were able to win games in two different fashions.”
Guterding, with 56 total points on the season, highlights an emerging Blue Devil attack that looks dangerous going into ACC play. Graduate transfer Peter Conley has been making noise with his ability to create offense from the top of the box. Freshman Joe Robertson is also able to take advantage of extra attention paid to Guterding, with 27 points in nine games.
Look for the two offenses to light up the scoreboard Saturday, as the combined average for each Duke vs. Syracuse matchup since 2009 is a very high 25.6 goals per game.
The difference may come down to the faceoff X, as both teams sport similar units in the middle of the field. Syracuse is .500 at winning faceoffs for the year, and Duke’s two primary faceoff men, freshman Joe Stein and sophomore Brian Smyth, have combined to give the Blue Devils a .436 percentage at the X. Sophomore Dan Varello will battle with Stein and Smyth for supremacy on Saturday, and it could decide the victor.
“A lot of times it is matchups and who you are playing, who you are matching up against,” Danowski said. “I think that this weekend will be no different. You don’t know until game time. We didn’t know we would line up as well as we did against Loyola facing off. It is always fascinating to see how that is going to play itself out.”
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