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Groundball Notebook: Duke Looks to Bounce Back
2/7/2017 3:26:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
The Blue Devils kicked off the 2017 season on a tough note, falling to No. 19 Air Force 11-10 this past Sunday. The game was filled with great moments as well as those that need improvement. It was just the second time under head coach John Danowski Duke has lost its home opener.
One Goal Losses
Duke's 11-10 loss to Air Force dropped the Blue Devils' record to 77-66 all-time in games decided by a single goal. The Blue Devils are 20-11 under Danowski in single-goal games.
Duke Opens Early
Opening Feb. 5 marked the earliest Duke has started a lacrosse season since it played its first game in that month in 1983. The previous earliest date was Feb. 7 in 2015. The Blue Devils started a week earlier than in 2016 and against a top-20 opponent for the second time under head coach John Danowski.
“Playing on Feb. 5 is a blessing and a curse,” said head coach John Danowski. “The blessing is the kids want to play and want to get out there. The curse is we may not quite be ready for some things. But nevertheless we have to tip our cap to Air Force. They played great.”
Blue Devil Firsts
Among the notable moments of Duke's 2017 season opener were career firsts for Blue Devil newcomers. Rookie midfielders Kevin Quigley and Joey Manown both notched their first collegiate goals, while Sean Cerrone tallied his first score in a Blue Devil uniform. Rookie JT Giles-Harris recorded his first career start on defense and picked up a ground ball, while sophomore defenseman Cade Van Raaphorst dished out an assist for his first career point. Overall, five true freshman saw the field of play for the Blue Devils.
100 and 101….
Senior attackman Jack Bruckner notched his 100th and 101st career goals Sunday as he became the 17th Blue Devil in program history to reach the mark. Bruckner got his 100th with 48 seconds left in the second quarter to send the Blue Devils into halftime with a 6-5 lead. He finished with three points to move into a tie for 31st on the Duke scoring list with 135 points. He is 17 points shy of climbing into the top 25. He is currently tied for 16th in the Blue Devils career goals list.
The Streaks Continue
Junior Justin Guterding and Bruckner's point streaks continued over the weekend with both attackmen tallying multiple points. Bruckner extended his point streak to 39 games, while Guterding pushed his to 38. They rank fourth and sixth nationally and have 123 and 145 points, respectively, in the stretch.
Limited Turnovers
Duke, despite suffering a setback in the season opener, committed just eight turnovers in the game against the Falcons. That is fewer than they committed in all of last season, with the low being nine twice.
Nation's Active Leaders
Senior Kyle Rowe and junior Justin Guterding currently sit atop the active players list in a variety of statistical categories tracked by the NCAA. Rowe is tops in ground balls (387) and faceoffs won (621), while Guterding is atop the lists in points per game (3.82) and goals per game (2.58). Joining the Duke duo on the active leaders list is Bruckner. His 101 are tied for second among current Division I players, while Guterding's 98 are fourth. On the points list, Guterding is third overall with 145, while Bruckner is fifth with 135. Guterding is also seventh in assists (47), while Rowe's .631 faceoff win percentage is right behind leader Sam Talkow's .635 success rate.
Looking Ahead
Duke will look to rebound this weekend when it hosts High Point and first-year program Cleveland State. The matchup with the Vikings from Cleveland State will be the sixth first-year program Duke has played during Danowski's tenure. The Duke head coach is known for playing new programs, as he makes his best effort to support the growth of the game. Duke has played Mercer (2011), High Point (2013), Marquette (2013), Boston University (2014) and Furman (2014) in their first seasons in Division I lacrosse.
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