Balanced Effort Pushes Duke to 2-0 with 14-7 Win Over Utah

Friday, February 6

Durham, N.C.

5 p.m.

Duke University

2-0, 0-0

Utah

1-1, 0-0

Utah

Duke

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Balanced Effort Pushes Duke to 2-0 with 14-7 Win Over Utah

2/6/2026 9:30:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score Box Score

DURHAM, N.C.— Five different Blue Devils scored two goals and 11th-ranked Duke held Utah to seven tallies en route to a 14-7 victory in non-conference men's lacrosse action Friday evening on Freeman Field at Koskinen Stadium.

Rookies Michael Ortlieb, Brady Scioletti and Kyle Colsey continued their stellar starts in collegiate lacrosse with a pair of markers, while veterans Max Sloat and Benn Johnston also added two goals apiece. Ortlieb finished his night with two goals and two assists and graduate student Thomas Mencke led all scorers with a goal and four assists.

Defensively, Duke (2-0) held the Utes (1-1) to just 29 shots and just 24 percent shooting Patrick Jameison made 11 saves in goal and Charlie Johnson anchored the close defense unit with three takeaways and three ground balls.

How it Happened

Goals were hard to come by for the Blue Devils and Utes in the first quarter with neither team scoring in the final nine minutes. Ortlieb and Liam Kershis scored the first two goals 1:02 apart before the Blue Devils went on a 14:25 scoring drought.
Leading 2-1 at the start of the second quarter, the Blue Devils found a rhythm and scored the next five to take a 7-1 lead. Colsey and Sloat both registered two goals in the run with Scioletti sandwiching one in in the middle of the period.
Utah ended its scoreless stretch at 17:08 with two unanswered before Connor Nolen and Tomas Delgado found the cage 38 seconds apart to send Duke into halftime up, 9-4.
The Blue Devils fired 32 shots in the first half, including 20 in the second quarter. Defensively, Duke kept Utah to just five shots and 12 in the entire first half.
The third quarter was an even 2-2 score as Scioletti and Mencke both had a goal. Duke fired just seven shots in the third period and turned the ball over four times.
Duke won the fourth quarter, 3-1, outshooting Utah 12-5 in the 15 minutes. Both of Johnston's goals on the night came in the final frame. The Blue Devils tacked on two goals in the final 2:39 to get the game to a 14-7 score.
Ryan Stines led the Utes with a goal and four assists, while Luke McNamara had three tallies. Collin Lenskold finished his night in goal with 13 saves.
Cal Girard was excellent at the faceoff dot, winning 14-of-20 restarts and picking up 10 ground balls.

Notes

Duke played six freshmen tonight, getting six goals, three assists and four ground balls from the trio. The group of Michael Ortlieb, Kyle Colsey and Brady Scioletti combined for nine of Duke's 23 points on the night – 39 percent.
Sophomore defensive midfielder Connor Nolen scored his first career goal.
Thomas Mencke dished a career-high four assists in the victory. He has six assists for the Blue Devils this season, matching his total in 42 games at Virginia. His seven points at Duke are 11 shy of his total in 14 outings with the Cavaliers last season.
Max Sloat and Benn Johnston both had two goals against the Utes, marking the second straight game both have had multiple tallies. It is the fifth time in both Johnston and Sloat's careers they have posted consecutive games with multiple goals.
Cal Girard picked up a career-high 10 ground balls and matched his career-high with 14 faceoff wins. He is an impressive 68 percent at the dot this season.
Patrick Jameison recorded his 25th game with at least 10 saves.