Just days after head coach John Danowski’s 478th win earned him the second-most wins in NCAA men’s lacrosse history, the storied leader began his first game with the second-place title on his birthday — a manifold reminder of the legendary coach’s 43 years as an NCAA lacrosse coach and 19 seasons in Durham.
Years of experience in tandem with birthday wishes proved to be too much for Danowski’s non-conference visitors. A scoring effort from eight unique Blue Devils — including a career-high five-goal contribution from junior midfielder Max Sloat — guided No. 8 Duke to an honest 16-10 victory over Providence in Koskinen Stadium Wednesday.
“I’m really proud of our guys. It’s spring break, and we’re a little bit battered and bruised at this time of year. There's been some illness going around on the team, and I thought the guys really responded well tonight,” Danwoski said. “We're not a pretty team; we're not a team that wows you. But I think we have a lot of heart, and the guys play with a lot of grit.”
Graduate attack Luke Grayum kickstarted Duke’s scoring run on a first quarter man-up opportunity. With the game locked at 1-1 through nearly 10 minutes passed, the Richmond transfer slotted in two goals — the second coming no more than a minute after the first — to start building the Blue Devils a sizable margin. Soon after Sloat’s first of the night gave his team a three-goal lead, graduate attack Eric Malever, the assister on both of his classmate’s man-up goals, tacked on two close-range dumps of his own to augment the Blue Devil lead to 6-1 by the first frame’s close.
“When you get balanced scoring, it makes you harder to defend. It means that guys are sharing the ball and that guys are playing unselfishly which is something that we really try to stress all the time,” Danowski said. “And then when it's your turn, you gotta make that play.”
Duke (7-1) did what it could to attempt to keep its head start on the Friars, but a cross-check from freshman midfielder Luke Warrington with seconds remaining in the second quarter meant that Providence (4-4) would enter the second half replenished and with a one-minute man-up opportunity.
With former top Friar goal scorer Richie Joseph not in uniform to take on Providence’s top-10 opponent, senior attack Jack Horrigan inherited his teammate’s scoring duties. The Lutherville, Md., native opened third-quarter scoring just thirty seconds after the whistle, continuing the run he started with a goal late in the second quarter. Just 19 seconds later, Horrigan continued the damage, assisting on a Friar’s second man-up goal and cutting the Duke lead to 8-6 with plenty of time remaining in the second half.
Soon, though, the Blue Devils would remind Providence that they weren’t leaving Durham with a ranked victory. Sophomore midfielder Benn Johnston ordered a high-bouncing rocket to the back of the Friar net to build the Duke lead back up to three. The score represented the Lake Forest, Ill., native’s sole goal of the match as Johnston cooled down from last week's ACC Offensive Player of the Week honors, but the crucial play would catalyze another Blue Devil scoring run to put Duke’s Big East visitors down and out.
“I thought that [the Friars] moved the ball really well. They're very well coached on extra man. We had two guys play the ball up top, and that's usually the kiss of death on man down,” Danowski said. “Benn Johnston scored once we settled up six on six, and that was awesome.”
Despite the resolute Duke victory, Providence opened the bout’s scoring as an unassisted Horrigan goal gave the Rhode Island-based team an early 1-0 lead. Minutes later, senior midfielder Andrew McAdorey’s right-handed rip from distance — the captain’s 100th goal in a Blue Devils uniform — equalized the score at one-all.
The 1-1 lock commenced several minutes of sloppy play and consistent goalkeeping before Grayum’s pair of man-up opportunities allowed Duke to break away. The nine saves and 17 turnovers for the Blue Devils sat just under Providence’s respective 12 save and 19 turnover tallies.
After Johnston’s second half score, contributions from Sloat and attackers Grayum, Liam McLane, Graham Blake and Liam Kershis built the ultimate 16-goal result.
“I’m pretty happy for Liam McLean to score tonight. Liam Kershis, a freshman, continues to make some plays. The attack did what the attack is supposed to do,” Danowski said.
An all-around performance was quite the birthday present for Duke’s head coach.
The Blue Devils will travel to Richmond, Va., for their second away match of the season Saturday.
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