One of the hallmarks of Duke men’s lacrosse in recent years has been head coach John Danowski’s preference for brutal nonconference schedules. This spring’s ledger is no different: Princeton, Penn, Denver, Michigan and Richmond all feature. But it was one of the less heralded names on that list, Air Force, that gave the Blue Devils one of their tougher tests so far.
Even so, No. 9 Duke had all the tools it needed to escape Saturday’s trap game at Koskinen Stadium. A devastating ride, excellent clearing, overwhelming faceoff advantage and career game from graduate attacker Eric Malever made the difference against the Falcons, resulting in an unconvincing-at-times but ultimately solid 16-11 win for the Blue Devils.
“I thought we were a little flat. I saw it yesterday in practice, I kind of felt it during the pregame meal, which is disappointing because you only get 15 of these,” Danowski said postgame. “But sometimes, listen, you gotta tip your cap to your opponent. I thought the Air Force had a plan for us defensively and they did a good job, very well coached.”
The second half of the balmy Saturday afternoon game began just as the first did: with a Duke faceoff win, an Air Force goal to make the home fans nervous and a Duke answer to assuage their worries. But unlike the first half, the Blue Devils (6-1) were able to turn their immense statistical advantage into a scoreboard advantage and, at last, pull away.
If Duke’s offensive game plan out of the halftime break were a house, Malever was its architect, builder and interior designer. The Maryland transfer, who ended with five goals and four assists, eviscerated the Falcons (2-5) time and time again, be it with his curling runs from the X around the crease or his incisive passing to set up his teammates.
Within a two-minute span in the middle of the third quarter, Malever almost single-handedly turned a 9-7 nailbiter into a 12-7 cruise. The first goal in the blitz belonged to junior midfielder Max Sloat, who snagged a bullet pass from Malever with one hand before bouncing it past the Air Force goaltender. Less than a minute later, Malever beat his man one-on-one from behind the goal to secure a hat trick, soon followed by his fourth goal at the doorstep off a Sloat dish.
“As an attackman, you're going to have these days. You're going to have days where you're the guy and you're positioned behind the goal, you're able to see the field, people are drawing slides in front of the cage, they're going to leave you back there uncovered for a couple of seconds, which makes sense defensively,” Danowski said of Malever. “And every guy did a really good job of being heads up and just kind of kidding around with him.”
There were plenty of game changers for Duke outside of Malever. Fellow attackman Luke Grayum contributed four goals, the defensive midfield duo of Mac Christmas and Aidan Maguire gave Air Force constant headaches and the defense caused 13 turnovers. Two of the most important discrepancies came, however, not from individuals but from team-wide successes on faceoffs and clears.
Duke’s ability to establish possession and transition with pace helped limit the impacts of Air Force’s zippy, physical attacking play and provide ample opportunities in front of goal, even if the Blue Devils struggled to convert them for much of the first half. The numbers speak for themselves: Duke secured 18 of the game’s 31 total faceoffs and succeeded on 14 of its 16 clears, compared to a 14-of-25 clip by the Falcons.
The other, and perhaps most impactful, advantage was Duke’s ride.
The Blue Devils were relentless near midfield and the pressure from their attackers was excellent, forcing the Falcons into a number of costly mistakes the home side could capitalize upon. That was vital in jumpstarting a lethargic attack, with many of Duke’s early goals coming not from well-worked offensive sets but an out-of-shape defense on its heels.
“Any possession that you can get back when a goalie is hot, like that guy was, and you're not always falling, any possession that you can get back is crucial,” Malever said. “Being able to steal some of those [was] big for us.”
Grayum’s opener, a dunk over the Air Force goaltender, came as a result of his pressure after his behind-the-back attempt was parried away. Graham Blake, who took Duke’s first lead with a goal late in the first quarter, was the brainchild of Malever tracking back to midfield to seize the ball from Falcon claws. Come the second quarter, Malever became the beneficiary of a successful Blue Devil ride with a scorcher from a tight angle on the right side of the goal.
“We worked on that a lot this week, and we got the ball back,” Malever said. “I think we did a good job there and we hustled. Coach had a good plan on the ride, and it was a success.”
Danowski noted after the game that faceoffs, clears and the ride were what he wanted his team to execute most against Air Force.
The Duke offense did eventually find some fluidity in large part because of its effectiveness in transition, plus a flurry of goals from Andrew McAdorey and Benn Johnston in midfield. The Blue Devils entered the halftime locker room with a 8-5 lead that felt far larger than it looked.
Air Force deserves credit for its hot start, which began with a pair of Ryan Stadelmaier goals from near-identical positions at the top of the crease, which sandwiched Grayum’s first. Senior attackman Josh Yago caused the Duke long-poles plenty of problems with his quick feet and dodging, hammering a brace of his own past Patrick Jameison. The Yago-Stadelmaier duo accounted for all of Air Force’s first-half goals and each had tricks by full time.
“In years past, we've lost these games, right? When we weren't, quote, ‘on,’” Danowski said. “We get everybody's best effort. And so that doesn't change, but to me, it's more about a sense of urgency and it's more about us than it is about an opponent. And that's the thing that we're really trying hard to get across, and we're trying to work at that.”
Duke enjoys little rest before a pair of games in the next week, starting Wednesday at home against Providence ahead of a Saturday trip to Richmond.
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Andrew Long is a Trinity senior and recruitment/social chair of The Chronicle's 120th volume. He was previously sports editor for Volume 119.