Duke and Notre Dame Face Off in Top 10 Matchup

4/7/2017 8:15:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse

By: Duke Sports Information

Game 12
No. 10 Duke (8-3, 1-1) vs. No. 3 Notre Dame (5-2, 1-1)
April 8, 2017 | 12 p.m. | ESPNU
Durham, N.C. | Koskinen Stadium

ESPN3 | Live Stats | Twitter

Setting the Scene

Duke is 8-3 overall and 1-1 in ACC play after a thrilling 12-8 comeback victory over rival North Carolina.
The Blue Devils climbed back into the top 10 at No. 10 in the USILA poll.
Notre Dame is 5-2 and coming off of an 11-10 loss to Syracuse last weekend. The Irish are 1-1 in ACC play overall.

Duke to Host Upcoming ACC Championship

Koskinen Stadium will play host to the 2017 ACC Men's Lacrosse Championship April 28-30. It is the first time since 2011 Duke has hosted the postseason event.
Tickets are available for purchase now online at GoDuke.com/tickets or at the Bassett Drive ticket window at Duke's next two home games.
All-session ticket packages for all four games on the weekend are $20 for youth (5-18) and $30 for adults. That includes admission to both semifinals, Saturday's ACC vs. Penn matchup and the title game Sunday.

The Series History

Duke and Notre Dame are meeting for the 20th time and the 14th time since 2010. The Blue Devils hold a 12-7 edge in the series.
Notre Dame has won the previous two regular season meetings and has a 4-3 advantage in games in Koskinen Stadium.
Duke is 6-4 in the previous 10 matches and 7-6 under head coach John Danowski.

Tale of the Tape

Category	Duke	Notre Dame
Shots/Game	36.5	38.6
Goals/Game	12.64	11.43
Assists/Game	8.18	6.29
Points/Game	20.8	17.71
Shot%	.347	.296
GAA	7.90	8.24
GBs/Game	28.73	25.86
EMO	14-31 (.452)	9-27 (.333)
Man Down	20-29 (.690)	7-16 (.438)
Clears	174-198 (.879)	95-109 (.872)
Faceoff %	144-266 (.541)	74-160 (.463)

By the Numbers
378 – Career wins for Duke head coach John Danowski, the most by a coach in Division I men's lacrosse history
17.8 – Average number of combined goals in the past 13 meetings between Duke and Notre Dame - in which both teams scored 10-plus goals twice
3 – Points needed for junior Justin Guterding to reach 200 career points, the 13th Blue Devil to achieve the feat
52 – Percent of Jack Bruckner's 29 goals assisted by Justin Guterding
.660 – Faceoff win percentage for senior Kyle Rowe in the past two games against Ben Williams of Syracuse and Stephen Kelly of North Carolina
.452 – Duke's man-up percentage (14-of-31) third in the ACC and 13th nationally
.438 – Notre Dame's man-down percentage (7-of-16) this season
16 – Penalties against Duke for 11:30 minutes in the first four games of the season
14 – Penalties committed by the Blue Devils for 12:30 in the previous seven games

Last Time Out

Justin Guterding tallied a game-high six points and senior Kyle Rowe won 14 of the game's final 15 faceoffs to lead the 11th-ranked Blue Devils to a thrilling 12-8 come-from-behind victory over No. 16 North Carolina last Sunday night.
Duke trailed 6-1 early in the second quarter before storming back in thrilling fashion for its first ACC win of the year. The Blue Devils held North Carolina to just two goals in the final 41:47.
Jack Bruckner added a game-high four goals for Duke, while Kevin Quigley and Joey Manown contributed a pair. Rowe finished 17-of-24 at the faceoff X and picked up eight ground balls.
Timmy Kelly and Luke Goldstock both finished with three points, while Michael Tagliaferri added two tallies for the Tar Heel offense.
Danny Fowler made six saves in the game.

Last Time We Met

Justin Guterding scored 40 seconds into overtime to complete Duke's 10-9 comeback win over fourth-ranked Notre Dame in the 2016 ACC Championship semifinal. The 13th-ranked Blue Devils outscored the Irish 6-1 in the final 20 minutes to come away with the win.
Chad Cohan led Duke with three goals and two assists, while Case Matheis had one goal and three assists. Overall, the seniors were exceptional for the Blue Devils, totaling 13 of Duke's 17 points in the game.
Trailing 8-4 late in the third quarter, Duke rallied to make it 8-6 heading into the final 15 minutes. The Blue Devils eventually tied it 9-9 on a goal from Myles Jones with seven minutes to play.
In goal, Danny Fowler had 12 saves, while Shane Doss had 11 stops for Notre Dame.

Scouting Notre Dame

Notre Dame comes to Durham with a 5-2 overall record after falling to Syracuse last weekend. The Fighting Irish are 1-1 overall in ACC play and ranked third in the latest USILA poll.
Ryder Garnsey paces the offense with 15 goals and 15 assists for 30 points. Mike Wynne has 17 points on the year and Sergio Perkovic has 15. Notre Dame is averaging 11.43 goals per game and is shooting just .296 for the year. \
Headlining the defensive effort is Garrett Epple with 13 caused turnovers and 18 ground balls. John Sexton has 11 takeaways to help the Fighting Irish hold their opponents to just 8.29 goals per game.
In goal, Shane Doss sports a 8.37 goals against average and a .540 save percentage. He has played all but 6:41 this season.

A Win over Notre Dame Would…

Be head coach John Danowski's 379th career win
Be the program's 549th overall victory and 53rd conference win
Make Duke 181-177 all-time in the month of April
Be Duke's fourth top 20 win of the year

10 Goals Key Against Fighting Irish

Duke's matchups with Notre Dame always turn into a defensive battle and the first to 10 generally wins. The Blue Devils have managed to score double digits in six of the previous 13 meetings. The Blue Devils are 5-1 in those contests and have only allowed the Irish 10-plus goals in three of the 13 games with Danowski at the helm.

Blue Devils vs. Notre Dame

Duke has played Notre Dame more than any other team of the previous three seasons. Seven current Blue Devils have at least four games under their belts against the Fighting Irish, but only 18 have seen action vs. the perennial power.
Justin Guterding is the top scorer with 11 points, while Kyle Rowe has dominated at the X, winning 43-of-60 faceoffs (.716) and picking up 21 ground balls.

Player	GP	G	A	P	GBs	CTs	FO
Tommy Zenker	6	1	0	1	5	2	-
Jack Bruckner	6	5	1	6	7	1	-
Ian Yanulis	5	-	-	-	14	3	-
Justin Guterding	4	8	3	11	8	1	-
Ethan Powley	4	-	-	-	9	4	-
Brian Dunne	4	-	-	-	8	4	-
Greg Pelton	4	-	-	-	1	-	-
David Gill	1	-	-	-	-	-	-
Jake Seau	1	-	-	-	-	-	-
Peter Welch	2	-	-	-	-	1	-
Tripp Transou	2	-	-	-	-	-	-
Brad Smith	2	-	-	-	-	-	-
Garrett Van de Ven	2	-	-	-	3	-	-
Mitch Russell	1	-	-	-	-	-	-
Matthew Giampetroni	1	-	-	-	-	-	-
Kyle Rowe	3	1	0	1	21	-	43-60
John Prendergast	2	1	-	1	2	-	-

Gaolie	Minutes	GA	Svs	GBs	GAA	SV%
Danny Fowler	238:42	40	42	7	10.04	.512

Duke vs. Notre Dame Close Calls

Duke and Notre Dame have played in three one-goal games in the 19 meetings. The Blue Devils are 3-0 in those contests and 2-0 in overtime.

Improved Defensive Discipline

Perhaps the most glaring difference in the statistics for Duke during this 6-1 stretch is the lack of penalties committed by the Blue Devils. In its first four games of the season, Duke was whistled for 16 penalties for 11:30, allowing 15 man-up chances for its opponents.
In the past seven games, the Blue Devils have been sent to the penalty box only 14 times for 12:30, giving foes 15 extra-man opportunities.
That averages out to two penalties and under two minutes per game in the past seven games compared to four penalties and nearly three minutes per game in the first four outings.

Duke Attack Trio Continues to Excel

The Blue Devils attacking trio of Justin Guterding, Jack Bruckner and Joey Manown combined for nine of the 12 goals and 12 of Duke's 21 points in Sunday night's win over the Tar Heels.
Since being solidified as the starting trio against Loyola March 11, the group has combined for 60 points (41g, 19a), accounting for 57 percent of the team's points in that 4-1 stretch. All three are shooting over 40 percent in that span with Guterding and Bruckner leading the way at .424.

Kyle Rowe continues to Rise to Occasion

In consecutive weeks against two of the nation's top faceoff specialists, Kyle Rowe has risen to the occasion. The senior midfielder won 17-of-24 draws overall and picked up eight ground balls against Stephen Kelly who entered the game fifth among active players in faceoff wins and leading the ACC in faceoff percentage (.590). Kelly won only 33 percent of his draws against Rowe.
Against Syracuse's standout Ben Williams, Rowe won 16-of-26 restarts despite Williams leading all players in career faceoff wins. Williams entered the game with a .586 win percentage and won only 22 percent of the draws.
The Vienna, Va., native currently leads the ACC and is 19th nationally with a. 582 success rate at the X. Saturday, he will go up against Notre Dame's P.J. Finley, who is fifth in the ACC with a .430 win percentage.

Bruckner and Guterding Dynamic Duo

The Batman and Robin tandem of Bruckner and Guterding has been unstoppable this season. In all 11 of Duke's game this season the leading scorer has been either Guterding or Bruckner. Guterding has led the way six times, tied with Bruckner twice and Joey Manown once. Bruckner was tops in points against Syracuse and Denver.
Overall, the duo is the highest scoring attacking tandem in the country with Duke being the lone school to have two players in the top 10 among active players in career goals.
Their connection on the field creates matchup nightmares for opponents. Of Bruckner's 29 goals in 2017, 15 of them (52 percent) have been assisted by Guterding. Bruckner has provided five assists to Guterding's 16 (31 percent) assisted scores, while the junior has thrown in 14 unassisted goals.

Guterding Three Shy of 200

Junior Justin Guterding left his name in the Duke records book twice in 2016, becoming the fastest Blue Devil to 100 career points and the first player to score 70 points in each of his first two seasons.
He is on pace for 81 points this season as he aims to be the fastest player to reach 200 career points. He needs just three points and is on pace to reach the mark in 49 games, one faster than Zack Greer's 50.

Up Next

The Blue Devils close their regular season home schedule April 15 against Virginia. Duke and the Cavaliers face off at 1 p.m.
It will be Military Appreciation Day and Duke will be holding an auction for the Lead the Way Fund. The Blue Devils will be auctioning off every game-worn camouflage helmet worn by the players that day.
To learn more about Lead the Way Fund – founded in honor of former Blue Devil Jimmy Regan – visit https://www.leadthewayfund.org/.

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