Duke Closes February Slate with Air Force Saturday

Saturday, February 27

Durham, N.C.

12 P.M.

Duke University

Air Force

Photo by: Towson University Athletics

Duke Closes February Slate with Air Force Saturday

2/26/2021 12:16:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

Watch | ACCNX Live Stats Game Program Game Notes

The Opening Faceoff

Duke is 4-0 with wins over No. 7/5 Denver, Robert Morris and Mercer and Towson. The Blue Devils stayed put at No. 1 in the media poll and dropped to No. 2 behind a red-hot North Carolina team. Saturday's game will cap a busy month of February for the Blue Devils.
The depth all over the field for the Blue Devils was the story against Towson. Duke dominated in nearly every statistical category, holding Towson to just two goals in the first three quarters. Four different Blue Devils registered hat tricks Jake Naso won 21-of-25 faceoffs and Mike Adler had eight saves on 10 shots on goal. .
Air Force is 1-1 with a loss to Denver (15-6) and a win against Utah (10-9). The Falcons were picked to finish third in the Southern Conference as defenseman Quentin Carlile was selected to represent Air Force on the preseason All-SoCon team. Quincy Peene is the top goal scorer with four tallies, while Ethan Grandolfo has three.
At the faceoff X, Dylan Frankhouser has won 17-of-35 faceoffs and picked up eight ground balls. In goal, Braden Host is averaging 13 saves per game and has an 11.76 goals against average.

Duke – Air Force by the Numbers
3 – Goals Joe Robertson needs to reach 100 for his career

321 – Career points for Michael Sowers, ranking eighth in NCAA history

.684 – Jake Naso's faceoff win percentage, ranking second in the ACC and seventh nationally

.388 – Duke's shot percentage after four games, the highest in the conference and fifth nationally

19 – Blue Devils who have scored at least one goal this season

.583 – Senior Nakeie Montgomery's shot percentage, the best in the league and 11th among all Division I players

14.00 – Saves per game average for Air Force goaltender Braden Host, seventh most in the country

38 – Points from Duke's offensive midfielders through four games, 40 percent of the team's scoring
among Division I teams

Duke Off to a 4-0 Start

The Blue Devils moved to 4-0 last weekend with the road win at Towson. For the second straight game, Duke rode a hot start and a balanced offense to the 19-7 victory.
Michael Sowers is the top scorer with 19 points (7g, 12a), while Brennan O'Neill has 12 points (8g, 4a) and Nakeie Montgomery has 11 (7g, 4a). Nineteen different players have scored at least one goal with O'Neill leading the way with eight. Just over half of Duke's goals have been assisted this season as Duke develops chemistry on the offensive end.
Like on offense, Duke has depth at the defensive end with two rope units - Terry Lindsay, Jake Caputo, Garrett Leadmon, Blake Leischow and Matt Chmil – and two experienced goaltenders in Mike Adler and Turner Uppgren. The close defense is anchored by All-American JT Giles-Harris and sophomores Tyler Carpenter and Kenny Brower. Duke's scoring defense is statistically at the top of the ACC and 11th nationally.

Scouting Air Force

Air Force is 1-1 overall, scoring a total of 16 goals in the two games. The Falcons are allowing 12 goals per game and allowing their opponents 47.5 shots per game.
Eight Falcons have scored a goal this season with Quincy Peene leading the way with four. Eleven of Air Force's 16 goals have been assisted. Ethan Grandolfo has three goals on nine shots.
Defensively, Air Force has 15 caused turnovers in two games. Quentin Carlile is the anchor to the defense, representing Air Force on the preseason All-SoCon team.
The Falcons have struggled at the faceoff X, winning only 19-of-46 draws. Dylan Frankhouser has taken 35 of them, winning 17 and picking up eight ground balls. In goal, Braden Host is making 13 saves per game and has given up 24 goals in two games.

A Win over Air Force Would

Be head coach John Danowski's 423rd career win
Be Danowski's 204th win at Duke
Be the program's 593rd overall victory
Make Duke 70-17 in the month of February

Defending Home Turf

Koskinen Stadium has treated the Blue Devils well over the years, being the home to countless memorable moments.
Since 2007, Danowski teams are 119-23 at Koskinen for an 84 percent success rate.

Schedule Changes

Duke has two updates to its schedule due to changes to the Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament being held at Richmond. The Blue Devils will now play Richmond, March 7 at 4 p.m. Duke's meeting with High Point moves to March 10 at 7 p.m.

Nakeie Montgomery Having His Best Start

Senior Nakeie Montgomery is having a strong start to the 2021 campaign, ranking third on the team in points with seven goals and four assists.
The Dallas, Texas native can impact a game in a variety of ways. He possesses incredible vision as well as the ability to beat a defender one-on-one to score. He is tied for second on the team with four assists and is third in goals.
The 11 points are the most for Montgomery in his first four games of a season. In 2020, Montgomery had six points as Duke started 2-2 and as a sophomore, he had five.

Naso Stellar At The X

Starting with the Robert Morris game, rookie Jake Naso has been Duke's top draw man. The St. Anthony's product has taken 83 percent (75-89) of the team's faceoffs in the past three games and has won 52 of them for a .693 win percentage.
Naso registered an assist versus Robert Morris while winning 19-of-28 draws and in the win over Mercer he scored his first career goal while winning 12-of-22 faceoffs. Mercer's draw man came into the game winning 83 percent of his restarts and left having won only 54 percent. Naso has 27 ground balls on the year and ranks seventh nationally with a .684 win percentage.

The Streaks Continue

The point streaks continued for Sowers and Joe Robertson Saturday. Sowers has scored at least one point in all 51 of his collegiate games, dating back to his debut Feb. 18, 2017. Sowers has been held with a goal just four times, but has never had fewer than two points in a game – twice versus Yale.
Senior Joe Robertson pushed his streak to 31 games, dating back to March 24, 2018. Sowers and Robertson are two of 21 players sporting at least a 30-game point scoring streak.

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