Duke Falls to Air Force, 14-13

Saturday, February 1

Durham, N.C.

2:00 PM

Duke University

0-1

Air Force

1-0

Air Force Academy

Duke University

Jordan Ginder wins a faceoff and runs with the ball

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Duke Falls to Air Force, 14-13

2/1/2020 6:03:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

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The Blue Devils Return to Action Feb. 8 at High Point

DURHAM, N.C.—Air Force outscored No. 5 Duke 5-2 in the fourth quarter to earn a comeback victory over the Blue Devils in the men's lacrosse season opener Saturday afternoon in Koskinen Stadium. The Blue Devils led 5-0 early and held the lead for 52:37 before a strong finish from the Falcons.

"February 1st games, until we watch the film are tough to analyze, but I think that everything we did coaching wise in terms of preparing our guys we felt good about," said head coach John Danowski. "We just didn't make plays. We had a lot of transition opportunities we didn't make over the course of the game and [Air Force] did. So you tip your cap to the opponent. They did a great job of sticking to what they do best"

Senior captain Joey Manown paced the Blue Devils with three goals and two assists, while sophomore midfielder Owen Caputo had a goal and three helpers. Cameron Badour chipped in a trio of tallies and one assist.

Air Force goaltender Braden Host was outstanding in making 17 saves, including seven in the fourth quarter. The tandem of Brandon Dodd – four goals and four assists – and Quincy Peene – four goals and one assists – was tough for Duke's young defense to handle. The Falcons scored 14 goals on 26 shots in the game.

"They made the plays that were available to them," Danowski said. "They didn't force the ball. They didn't force situations. They were very confidence and very comfortable with the ball in their stick."

Duke led 6-1 with 4:53 left in the first quarter, but managed only four more goals over the next 19:53. Meanwhile Air Force got its offense going and started to chip away at the lead, pulling within two at 6-4, before Duke closed the half on a 3-1 run for the 9-5 advantage at the break.

The Falcons opened the third quarter with three unanswered goals to make it 9-8 and kept that pressure on a young Blue Devil defense. Duke always seemed to have an answer as CJ Carpenter found Manown at 8:25 of the third quarter to make it a two-goal game again, 10-8.

Air Force refused to go away and was able to capitalize on Duke turnovers to keep within striking distance. Trailing 11-9 after 45 minutes, Dodd again made it a one-goal game, 11-10, 13 seconds into the fourth quarter. Badour had the answer this time for the Blue Devils to make it 12-10, but the Falcons' final 10 minutes proved to be the difference.

Air Force tied it up with 7:23 and took the lead for the first time with 3:52 left. Host made saves down the stretch the keep the Falcons ahead and with Duke goaltender Turner Uppgren out defending, Dodd threw in an empty net score for the two-goal advantage with 48 seconds to play.

Duke refused to give up and scored a transition goal from rookie Dyson Williams with seven seconds left, but the Falcons were able to tie up the faceoff to secure their third win over the Blue Devils in the past four meetings.

"I wasn't disappointed in our effort," Danowski said. "But I think we get tight when the game is close versus and opponent that quote "you're supposed to beat" and they don't have fun. They don't enjoy it. I think the Air Force kids were having a blast. They were having a lot of fun in the fourth quarter and I think our guys played really tight."

The Blue Devils dominated the stat sheet, winning 21-of-30 faceoffs, picking up 36 ground balls to Air Force's 17 and outshooting the Falcons 47-26.

Duke returns to action Feb. 8 at High Point. Faceoff is set for 12 p.m.