Bruckner, Fowler Guide Duke Past Virginia, 15-8

Sunday, April 12

Durham, N.C.

12:00 PM

Duke University

Virginia

Bruckner, Fowler Guide Duke Past Virginia, 15-8

4/12/2015 3:41:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. – Sophomore attackman Jack Bruckner scored seven goals and redshirt freshman Danny Fowler posted 18 saves to lead No. 7 Duke to a 15-8 win over No. 6 Virginia in ACC men's lacrosse action at Koskinen Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The win clinches a spot four Duke in the four-team ACC Tournament field.

“There was a lot of emotion this week and a big sense of urgency,” said Myles Jones. “There was also a lot of relaxation in yesterday's practice which gave a lot of our guys confidence. We shot the ball well on the offensive end. I talked to some of our defensemen and they said they knew their assignments cold and that gave a lot of guys energy. It was just a matter of execution today.”

Duke (8-4, 1-3 ACC) has now won 14 of the last 15 meetings against the Cavaliers (8-4, 0-4 ACC) dating back to the 2005 season. Bruckner's seven goals are the most by a Blue Devil since Zach Howell scored seven against Siena Feb. 12, 2011.

“The kids have given us everything we've asked of them during the week,” said head coach John Danowski. “This week was really long. We practiced six days in a row, three hours and it's a lot. I'm really proud of them for fighting through that because it wasn't easy.”

After Bruckner scored the game's first goal, the Cavaliers claimed a 2-1 advantage on Greg Coholan's marker at the 6:44 mark of the opening period. Duke responded with four straight tallies – three by Bruckner – for a 5-2 lead midway through the second quarter. The Blue Devils kept Virginia at bay for 14:47 en route to the early three-goal lead.

The teams split the next six goals before the Blue Devils used a 5-0 run over a span of 8:08, capped by Bruckner's seventh marker of the afternoon which provided Duke with a 13-5 cushion with 13:18 left in the fourth frame. Four different Blue Devils scored in the 5-0 stretch

Bruckner's performance highlighted six Blue Devils with multiple points including Myles Jones (2 goals & 3 assists), Deemer Class (3 goals & 1 assist), Justin Guterding (1 goal & 3 assists), Kyle Keenan (1 goal & 2 assists) and Case Matheis (1 goal & 2 assists). Overall, Duke finished with 11 assists on 15 goals.

“I think today was a function of our guys playing well together and not being afraid to throw the ball inside,” Danowski said. “Jack had seven goals, probably seven of them were assisted and someone threw him the ball. Today he's a guy who happened to be on the end of the passing tree so to speak.”

Making just the third start in net for the Blue Devils, Fowler registered 18 saves against the eight goals allowed. At the faceoff X, Jack Rowe won 12-of-23 draws and had seven ground balls while Brian Dailey chipped in five ground balls and one caused turnover.

For Virginia, Coholan led the offense with three goals, while goalkeeper Matt Barrett was credited for 17 saves.

Next up for Duke is a trip to face Stony Brook Wednesday at 7 p.m., followed by a road game at Marquette on Saturday, April 18 at 1 p.m. With today's victory over Virginia, the Blue Devils earn the No. 4 seed in the upcoming ACC Tournament and will face either North Carolina or Notre Dame in the semifinals on Friday, April 24 at PPL Park in Chester, Pa.

#GoDuke