Blue Devil of the Week: Mac Christmas shines in start of sophomore season

During the winter season, The Chronicle is polling its readers every week via its Sportswrap newsletter to highlight one Blue Devil athlete’s outstanding performance. This week, the spotlight is on Mac Christmas of Duke men's lacrosse:

Last Saturday, then-No. 8 Duke men’s lacrosse hosted Saint Joseph’s at Koskinen Stadium. In a tight match, the Blue Devils ultimately came out with the victory, ending the game 11-9. One of the key contributors to Duke’s win: sophomore Mac Christmas. 

As a long-stick midfielder, the player’s expectation is primarily defensive. Facing Saint Joseph's, Duke's traditional offensive line experienced cracks that forced Christmas to move into a more offensive role in addition to his defensive responsibilities. At the end of the game, he became the first Blue Devil pole to score multiple goals in a game since CJ Costabile in the 2010 NCAA quarterfinal.  

Christmas put Duke on the scoreboard with his first goal of the game. He did not stop there, ending with three ground balls, two goals and one caused turnover. In his first career multiple-goal game, the sophomore from Bethesda, Md., showed himself to not only be an integral part of the team’s defense, but offense as well. 

“It is very humbling to join CJ Costabile on that list. I was six when he did,” said Christmas. 

During his freshman season, Christmas played only eight games and delivered one caused turnover in the Blue Devils' win against Providence. Although there is not much to look back on, his performance against Saint Joseph’s suggests there will be a lot more to come.

When asked about his hopes for this season, Christmas responded he just wants to “keep scoring goals and playing good team defense.” Being only Duke’s third game of the season, there will be many opportunities for him to do so, making Christmas a key player to look out for this spring. 

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