Completed Event: Men's Lacrosse versus Georgetown on May 10, 2025 , Loss , 12, to, 16
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Final
Men's Lacrosse
12
vs Georgetown
16
Friday, March 31
Charlottesville, Va.
5 p.m.
Duke University
at
Virginia
Photo by: Duke Athletics
No. 4 Duke Set for Battle at No. 1 Virginia Friday
3/30/2023 9:36:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
The Opening Faceoff
By the Numbers
.653 - Jake Naso's faceoff win percentage in 2023, second nationally
.417 - Naso's career faceoff percentage against Virginia, the lone ACC opponent he is below 50 percent
18 - Age of Matt Danowski the last time Virginia beat Duke in a regular season game – his rookie season in 2004
37 - Danowski's current age, now in his 11th year as an assistant coach at Duke
18.62 – Goals scored per game average for Virginia, leading the nation
9.80 – Goals allowed per game average for Duke, ranking 12th nationally
13 – Points for Brennan O'Neill in his two games against Virginia – seven goals and six assists
12.5 – Points per game average for Duke's attack trio of McAdorey, O'Neill and Williams
14.5 – Points per game average for Virginia's attack trio of Cormier, Dickson and Shellenberger
4.76 – Career points per game average for UVA's Connor Shellenberger
1.5 – Points per game average for Shellenberger against Duke
8-0 - Duke's record against Virginia in Charlottesville under head coach John Danowski
23-4 - Danowski's all-time record against Virginia
About Virginia
Shellenberger vs Duke
Series History
Naso And LaSalla Meet Again
What Gives?
Duke and UVA Meet As Top Five Foes
CLEAR!!!
Up Next
#GoDuke
- Duke, 9-1 on the year, is ranked fourth nationally and has won seven straight. The Blue Devils are in the middle of a three-game road swing through three different states.
- Virginia jumped back to No. 1 following a 15-10 win at Notre Dame. The Cavaliers' lone loss came to Maryland in overtime. Virginia has the nation's top scoring offense and has scored at least 13 goals in every game this season, while the attack trio is averaging 8.63 goals and 14.5 points per game.
- The attack unit of Andrew McAdorey, Brennan O'Neill and Dyson Williams have paced the Blue Devils. The trio is averaging 8.4 goals and 12.5 points per game and has 53 percent of the team's 219 points. Duke has gotten goals from 22 different players this season.
- Duke's defense has been solid, holding teams to just .265 shooting and to 9.80 goals per game. The Blue Devils are allowing just 8.0 goals per game over the past four outings.
- Graduate student transfer William Helm is solid in the cage, averaging 10.70 saves per game and sporting a .543 save percentage.
- Junior faceoff specialist Jake Naso features a .653 win percentage at the dot to rank fourth nationally. He is tied for the most faceoffs taken of any draw man in the country (251). Petey LaSalla is 131-of-223 (.587) this season.
By the Numbers
.653 - Jake Naso's faceoff win percentage in 2023, second nationally
.417 - Naso's career faceoff percentage against Virginia, the lone ACC opponent he is below 50 percent
18 - Age of Matt Danowski the last time Virginia beat Duke in a regular season game – his rookie season in 2004
37 - Danowski's current age, now in his 11th year as an assistant coach at Duke
18.62 – Goals scored per game average for Virginia, leading the nation
9.80 – Goals allowed per game average for Duke, ranking 12th nationally
13 – Points for Brennan O'Neill in his two games against Virginia – seven goals and six assists
12.5 – Points per game average for Duke's attack trio of McAdorey, O'Neill and Williams
14.5 – Points per game average for Virginia's attack trio of Cormier, Dickson and Shellenberger
4.76 – Career points per game average for UVA's Connor Shellenberger
1.5 – Points per game average for Shellenberger against Duke
8-0 - Duke's record against Virginia in Charlottesville under head coach John Danowski
23-4 - Danowski's all-time record against Virginia
About Virginia
- Virginia comes into Friday's ACC tilt with a 7-1 record and No. 1 ranking after beating No. 1 Notre Dame, 15-10. The Cavaliers' lone loss is to Maryland in overtime.
- The Cavaliers feature an elite attack unit, averaging 14.5 points per game. Connor Shellenberger leads the nation in assists per game (3.88) and ranks third in points per game (5.62). Xander Dickson has 40 points (5.0/gm) and Payton Cormier has 31 (3.9/gm).
- On the defensive side of the ball, Virginia is allowing 12.12 goals per game. The Cavaliers are anchored by Cade Saustad with 17 caused turnovers and 20 ground balls.
- Petey LaSalla is in his fifth season as Virginia's faceoff specialist. He is 131-of-223 (.587) this season and 912-of-1519 (.600) for his career. In goal, Matthew Nunes has played all but 27 minutes and sports an 11.36 goals against average and a .509 save percentage.
Shellenberger vs Duke
- Connor Shellenberger ranks second among active players with a 4.76 points per game average. The Blue Devils have been able to slow the stellar attackman down in the two previous games, holding him to just two goals and an assist (2021: 1g, 1a, 2022: 1g).
- Has has been held to two or fewer points in a game six times in his career with two of those coming against Duke.
Series History
- Duke and Virginia meet for the 87th time. The Cavaliers have a 51-35 edge in the all-time series, but the Blue Devils have won 23 of the previous 25 contests. Duke has not lost to Virginia in Charlottesville since 2004 and has won the 23 games by an average of 5.2 goals per game.
- Duke head coach John Danowski has fared well against the Cavaliers in his career, going 20-2 at Duke and 23-4 all-time.
Naso And LaSalla Meet Again
- Friday's matchup features two of the most successful faceoff specialists in the country. Naso leads the ACC and ranks second nationally at 65 percent, while LaSalla is second in the league and 22nd among Division I draw men.
- Naso has improved at the dot against LaSalla each season. He went 8-of-20 (.400) with four ground balls and 12-of-28 (.429) with 12 GBs in 2022.
- LaSalla and the Cavaliers have fared well at the faceoff against Duke the past four seasons. He is 65-of-102 (.637) in the four meetings with a 10 ground balls per game average.
What Gives?
- Friday's contest between Duke and Virginia features a host of interesting matchups. Perhaps the most intriguing is Virginia's high-octane offense against a tough Blue Devil defense.
- Both squads enter the contest with high-powered offenses. Duke is averaging 15.50 goals per game, while Virginia leads the nation at 18.62. The Cavaliers most recently scored 15 goals against a Notre Dame team that was allowing eight per game. UVA has scored at least 15 goals in seven games, while Duke has 15-plus goals in five outings.
- Defensively, Duke has not allowed more than nine goals in the past four games and has held six of the 10 opponents to single digits this season. Only three Duke opponents have shot better than 30 percent in a game this season. Maryland is the lone team to hold Virginia to under 30 percent shooting this season.
Duke and UVA Meet As Top Five Foes
- For the 15th time in the two programs' storied histories, Duke and Virginia will face off in a top-five matchup. Duke has a slight edge at 8-6, including last year's 17-8 victory in Durham over the No. 4 Cavaliers.
CLEAR!!!
- Duke has improved its clearing game this season, sporting an 89.4 percent success rate (203-227) to rank 15th nationally. This is the best clearing percentage for the Blue Devils in a season since posting an 89.5 percentage in 2018. Duke was at 89.8 in 2020 when the season was canceled after eight games.
Up Next
- Duke closes its three-game road swing at No. 3 Notre Dame April 8. Faceoff is at 4 p.m.
#GoDuke
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