Five members of Duke men’s lacrosse have been named to the All-ACC Team, tying Virginia for the program with the most selections this year.
Graduate goalie Mike Adler, graduate midfielder Nakeie Montgomery and sophomore attacker Brennan O’Neill each received their second All-ACC nod, while junior defender Kenny Brower and junior longstick midfielder Tyler Carpenter both received their first.
O’Neill’s honor comes after a 2022 campaign in which he led the Blue Devils in scoring with 74 total points and finished fifth in the ACC in goals per game and points per game with 3.12 and 4.35, respectively. The St. Anthony’s product had previously been named the 2021 ACC Freshman of the Year and was a 2021 USILA All-America honorable mention. This season, he logged 53 goals, the ninth-highest single-season total in program history, and was named the ACC Offensive Player of the Week four times.
Adler, in his second year with the team, finished with both the ACC’s second-highest save percentage and saves per game among qualified goaltenders, with marks of .550 and 13.06, respectively. His save percentage is also good for 14th-highest in the NCAA, and he was thrice named the ACC Defensive Player of the Week. In addition, Adler made 20 saves on two occasions this season in wins against Richmond and Virginia, a personal best in his time at Duke.
The Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native was a USILA third-team All-American and Inside Lacrosse second-team All-American in 2021, and was an Inside Lacrosse All-American honorable mention the year prior while at St. Joseph’s. He finishes his collegiate career with the 14th-most career saves and second-most minutes played of any goalie in NCAA history.
Montgomery led Duke’s midfield in his fifth year with the team after being a consensus first-team All-American in 2021. He ranked third in scoring for Duke this season—first among midfielders—with 48 total points on 29 goals and 19 assists, also setting a career-best single-season point total. Montgomery, who was selected by Redwoods in the third round of Tuesday's PLL College Draft, finishes his career at Duke with the fourth-most career points for a midfielder in program history.
Meanwhile, Carpenter’s first All-ACC nod comes after he led all non-faceoff specialists in the ACC with 67 ground balls. The Durham native, primarily a defensive player, also scored three goals and logged two assists. He was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Week after corralling seven ground balls and tallying an assist against Denver in February, and was a consensus third-team All-American in 2021. This year, Carpenter picked up a career-best eight ground balls in Duke’s home win against North Carolina to close the Blue Devils' home slate.
Finally, Brower earns his honor after anchoring Duke’s defensive unit following the graduation of JT Giles-Harris, one of the most decorated defenders in program history, and he did so admirably. Brower could usually be seen guarding opponents’ top attackers, and he trailed only Carpenter in the ACC in ground balls by a non-faceoff specialist with 42. After Duke’s win against Virginia, Brower was named to the USILA Team of the Week, and he finishes the season with the third-most caused turnovers for the Blue Devils.
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Sasha Richie is a Trinity senior and a sports managing editor of The Chronicle's 118th volume.