Matt Danowski - Associate Head Coach - Men's Lacrosse Coaches

Matt Danowski

Title:
Associate Head Coach
Email:
matthew.danowski@duke.edu
Phone:
(919) 668-5791

One of the best players in Duke men’s lacrosse history, Matt Danowski enters his 15th season with the program. In his 14 seasons with the offense, Danowski has mentored some of Duke’s top scorers, including Jordan Wolf, Justin Guterding, Dyson Williams and Brennan O’Neill.

Since arriving on campus in the summer of 2012, the Blue Devils have featured one of the nation’s top offenses and some of the most prominent attackmen and offensive players in the game with O’Neill joining the ranks as the 2023 Tewaaraton Award winner. Overall, a Duke attackman has been a Tewaaraton Award finalist five times during Danowski’s tenure.

Danowski’s offenses are some of the most exciting in lacrosse, with the Blue Devils ranking in the top five in scoring offense in nine of his 14 years on the sideline them. Duke has had five first-team All-American attackmen and 17 All-America recognitions since 2013.

Off the lacrosse field, Danowski has used his experience as a Duke student-athlete to help the Blue Devils navigate the rigors of balancing athletics and academics at Duke. The Blue Devils regularly lead the ACC in All-Academic Team members. In each of the 14 seasons, the team has finished with at least a 3.0 team grade point average.

Breaking Down Danowski’s 14 Seasons
In 2026, Danowski was instrumental in helping All-American midfielder Benn Johnston make the transition to the attack position. Through diligent instruction and guidance from Danowski, Johnston led the Blue Devils in scoring en route to earning honorable mention All-America accolades in his first year at the position.

Among the many highlights in Danowski’s time at Duke, the 2024 season saw one of the best as O’Neill and Williams join rarefied air as 200-goal scorers in the same season. Danowski coached three of the four Blue Devils to reach the benchmark, including record holder Guterding. O’Neill finished his career ranked fifth in NCAA history in goals and tied for 18th in career points. He also was one of four players in NCAA history to register 200 goals and 100 assists in his career.

In his 10th and 11th seasons, Danowski continued to manage the growth of O’Neill as the talented attackman joined the elite 200-point scorer ranks and is on pace to become the fourth Blue Devil to reach 300 career points. O’Neill garnered his third All-ACC honor was named the Raymand J. Enners Award winner as the nation’s top player along with the Tewaaraton Award.

Additionally, Williams turned in his best season as a Blue Devil in 2023, leading Duke with 60 goals - one of six different Blue Devils to score 60 in a season. In 2022, Nakeie Montgomery became the first midfielder since Myles Jones to be named to the All-America first team in consecutive seasons. Montgomery finished his career ranked 30th at Duke in career points.

Danowski melded a collection of extremely talented players in 2021 as Duke landed three attackmen and a midfielder on the All-America squads. He helped work into Duke’s offense the nation’s most sought after transfer in Michael Sowers as well as the country’s top-ranked freshman with O’Neill. After a stellar start to his career as a freshman on attack, Williams moved into the midfield in 2021 where he contributed 23 goals. Also in the midfield, Montgomery dished a career-high 22 assists on his way to earning All-America first team recognition.

Despite playing just eight games in 2020, Williams flourished under Danowski’s watch. The Ontario native was on pace to battle for the Duke rookie scoring record, while the Blue Devil offense averaged 15.25 goals per game to rank 11th nationally.

In 2018, Duke’s offense was the best in the ACC and ranked fourth nationally with Guterding leading the way. With Danowski providing daily inspiration and guidance, Guterding rewrote the NCAA record book, breaking the career goals record with 212 goals. Netting 66 goals and 113 points overall, Guterding led the nation in goals (3.30/game) and was third in points (5.65).

After becoming a household name in his rookie season, Justin Guterding continued to rewrite the records book with Danowski as a mentor. He led the team in scoring with 71 points to become the first Blue Devil to score 70-plus points in each of his first two seasons. He also became the fastest Blue Devil to 100 career points, reaching the benchmark in 25 games. Guterding’s play earned the attackman his first All-ACC and All-America honors.

In 2015, following the departure of Tewaaraton Finalist Jordan Wolf, Duke was fourth nationally in scoring offense at 14.28 goals per game. Duke led the ACC and was fourth again nationally with a 13.50 goals per game average. Guterding had an outstanding rookie season that year, with the Long Island native finishing his first year with 52 goals and 70 points overall, the second most by any freshman in Division I. Perhaps even more impressive was the mentorship Danowski did with attackman Jack Bruckner in his first year at the position. A lifetime midfielder, Bruckner made the switch and ranked third on the team in scoring with 47 goals and 13 assists for 60 points. Overall, in 2015, Duke’s attacking trio of Guterding, Bruckner and Matheis accounted for 42 percent of the Blue Devils’ points.

Duke’s offense flourished early in Danowski's coaching career, ranking second and third nationally in scoring in 2014 and 2013, respectively. His second season surpassed his debut in 2013 as the Blue Devils offense finished the year ranked second nationally in scoring offense (14.85), assists per game (9.0) and points per game (23.85). Under Danowski’s tutelage, Wolf completed his career in record-setting fashion. Wolf, a 2014 Tewaaraton Award finalist, became the first Blue Devil and ACC player overall to score over 100 points in a season with 64 goals and 39 assists for 103 points. He finished his illustrious career with 304 points to rank second in Duke history, only behind his mentor Danowski.

Danowski One of the All-Time Great Blue Devils
As a player, Matt Danowski remains at the top of the Duke records book and near the top of the NCAA records book. He is still Duke’s all-time leading scorer with 353 career points and tops in assists at 183. Matt is one of four Duke players to rank in the top 10 in career goals, assists and points.

Danowski joined the staff after a stellar career in which he led the Blue Devils to three NCAA semifinal berths, two national runner-up finishes, two ACC Tournament Championships and a 63-18 overall record. The 2007 consensus National Player of the Year as the recipient of both the Tewaaraton Trophy and the USILA Lt. Raymond J. Enners Award, Danowski finished his career with a NCAA record 353 points from 170 goals and 183 assists.

Peppered throughout the ACC and NCAA records books, Danowski collected nearly every award possible during his illustrious collegiate career. He was a three-time USILA first team All-American, three-time Tewaaraton Trophy finalist and three-time ACC Player of the Year selection and is one of just two players in NCAA history to score 90-plus points in multiple seasons. In addition, he twice won the USILA Lt. Col. J.I. Turnbull Award as the nation’s top attackman and is one of three players in ACC history to earn the ACC Rookie of the Year and ACC Player of the Year accolades during his career.

After graduation, Danowski was selected second overall in the 2008 Major League Lacrosse draft. He is a four-time MLL All-Star and was named to the All-MLL team in 2010 and 2011. He played for the expansion Charlotte Hounds of the MLL and was named to the All-MLL squad after a stellar 2013 season in which he led the Hounds to the MLL Championship game. Danowski currently plays for Chrome LC of the Premier Lacrosse League.

In 2024, Danowski was enshrined into the Duke Athletics Hall of Fame alongside his father. One year later, the Blue Devil great earned the highest honor in being inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame. He is among three Blue Devil players to earn that distinction.

Danowski, a history major, earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2007 and completed his master’s degree in liberal studies in 2009. He is married to former Duke women’s lacrosse player Virginia Crotty. The couple married October 11, 2014 in Durham, N.C. They reside in Durham with their two daughters Caroline and Louise and son John.