No. 2 Duke Welcomes No. 3 Virginia to Koskinen Saturday

Saturday, April 15

Durham, N.C.

12 p.m.

Duke University

Virginia

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Photo by: Nick Ierati

No. 2 Duke Welcomes No. 3 Virginia to Koskinen Saturday

4/14/2023 7:58:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse

Game Notes Watch Live Stats Game Program

The Opening Faceoff

Duke, 10-2 on the year, sits at No. 2 in the national polls following the 17-12 setback at Notre Dame. Faceoff is set for 12 p.m., on ACC Network at Koskinen Stadium.
Virginia sits at No. 3 in the USILA poll and No. 2 in the Inside Lacrosse rankings with an 8-2 record and 2-1 mark in ACC play after a 19-12 win at North Carolina . The Cavaliers feature the nation's top-ranked scoring offense, averaging 18.20 goals per game.
The attack unit of Andrew McAdorey, Brennan O'Neill and Dyson Williams have paced the Blue Devils. The trio is averaging 8.2 goals and 12 points per game and has 51 percent of the team's 280 points. Duke has gotten goals from 22 different players this season.
Duke's defense has been solid overall, holding teams to just .285 shooting and to 10.75 goals per game. The Blue Devils are allowing just 10.5 goals per game over the past six outings.
Graduate student transfer William Helm is solid in the cage, averaging 10.9 saves per game and sporting a .520 save percentage.
Junior faceoff specialist Jake Naso features a .631 win percentage at the dot to rank fifth nationally. He ranks second in faceoffs taken (317). Petey LaSalla is 168-of-290 (.579) in restarts for Virginia.

Duke – Virginia by the Numbers
22-2 - Duke's record against Virginia since 2005 with the setbacks coming in the 2010 ACC semifinal and 2019 NCAA semifinal
138-25 - Duke's record at home since 2007, going undefeated in 2008, 2012 and 2021
18.20 – Goals scored per game average for Virginia, leading the nation
10.75 – Goals allowed per game for Duke, ranking 17th nationally
7.33 - Points per game average for Brennan O'Neill against Virginia
2.00 - Points per game average for Virginia's Connor Shellenberger, six points in three games
14.10 – Points per game average for Virginia's attack trio of Shellenberger, Dickson and Cormier
12 – Points per game for Duke's attack trio of McAdorey, O'Neill and Williams
.631 – Faceoff win percentage for Jake Naso in 2023, ranking fifth nationally
.472 – Jake Naso's faceoff win percentage in three games against Virginia
.625 - Petey LaSalla's faceoff percentage versus the Blue Devils

Duke Men's Lacrosse Parking Information

General Public Garage Parking - is available in Science Drive Garage (GPS Address: 3100 Cameron Blvd.) located on NC 751/Cameron Blvd. Game day parking opens Saturday 10:00 AM. Science Drive Garage entry is located at the permit entrance off of NC 751/Cameron Blvd. – no game day parking available at the JB Duke Hotel. There is no charge to park. There is no tailgating permitted in the garage (including the roof) – this policy will be strictly enforced on game day.
General Public Tailgate Parking – is available in the Grounds Lot and Jogging Trail Lot, both located on NC 751/Cameron Blvd. between Science Drive and Duke University Road. Lacrosse Tailgate parking opens Saturday 10:00 AM. There is no charge to park. REMINDER – For the safety of all guests, tents, tables, tarps and canopies are NOT permitted if they extend into additional parking spaces or if they impede foot or vehicular traffic.

About Virginia

Virginia is coming off a commanding 19-12 victory at No. 10 North Carolina last week. The Cavaliers are 3-0 on the road and averaging 17.33 goals per game in true road contests.
The Cavaliers sport the nation's top-ranked offense, averaging 18.20 goals per game. Xander Dickson is the top scorer with 39 goals and 10 assists, while Connor Shellenberger has 48 points in his nine games. Payton Cormier rounds out the attack trio with 44 points.
On the defensive side of the ball, Virginia is allowing 12.5 goals per game to rank 48th among Division I programs. Cade Saustad draws the top matchup and leads the team with 20 caused turnovers.
Petey LaSalla anchors the faceoff duties, winning 168-of-290 (.579) restarts this season. He is averaging nine ground balls per game and has eight goals. In goal, Matthew Nunes has played all but 31 minutes. He sports an 11.88 goals against average and a .504 save percentage.

Shellenberger vs Duke

Connor Shellenberger ranks third among active players with a 4.72 points per game average. The Blue Devils have been able to slow the stellar attackman down in the three previous games, holding him to just two goals and four assists (2021: 1g, 1a, 2022: 1g, 2023: 3a). All three of his assists in the first meeting this season came on extra man.
He 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 88th time. The Cavaliers have a 51-36 edge in the all-time series, but the Blue Devils have won 24 of the previous 26 contests. Duke has not lost to Virginia in Durham since 2003.
Duke head coach John Danowski has fared well against the Cavaliers in his career, going 21-2 at Duke and 24-4 all-time.

What Gives

Saturday's contest between Duke and Virginia features a host of interesting matchups, including the Cavaliers' high-octane offense against a tough Blue Devil defense.
Both squads enter the contest with high-powered offenses. Duke is averaging 15.25 goals per game, while Virginia is at 18.20. The Cavaliers have scored at least 15 goals in eight of their 10 games.
Defensively, Duke sports a 10.75 goals against average, while Virginia is at 12.50. The Blue Devils have held six of their 12 opponents to single digits this season and six of the past seven foes under their scoring average . Five Duke opponents have shot better than 30 percent in a game this season.

Home Sweet Home

Duke had its 14-game home win streak snapped in 2022 against Jacksonville, but overall the Blue Devils have fared well at home.
Duke is 138-25 (.847) in games in Durham under head coach John Danowski. The Blue Devils have gone unbeaten at home three times since 2007 (2008, 2012, 2021).

Current Blue Devils vs. Virginia

Garrett Leadmon and Owen Caputo are the lone two Blue Devils to have played in every game against Virginia since 2019. Duke is 4-1 in that span with the loss coming in the 2019 NCAA Semifinal - Leadmon and Caputo's freshman campaign. Brennan O'Neill has fared well against the Cavaliers, averaging 7.33 points per game.

Up Next

Duke has a weekend off before closing out its regular season home schedule April 29 against Syracuse. Faceoff is set for 12 p.m., and Duke will be honoring its 2013 NCAA Championship squad at halftime.

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