No. 7 Duke Hosts No. 11 Denver Saturday

Saturday, February 19

Durham, N.C.

12 PM

Duke University

Denver

Photo by: Duke Athletics

No. 7 Duke Hosts No. 11 Denver Saturday

2/18/2022 10:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse

WATCH | ACCNX LIVE STATS GAME NOTES

The Opening Faceoff

The Blue Devils continue their home stretch to start the 2022 season, hosting their first top-20 opponent in No. 11 Denver Saturday at noon. Duke had its 15-game home win streak snapped last Sunday with a 14-12 loss to Jacksonville. The Blue Devils dropped from No. 2 to No. 7 in the USILA poll, while Denver stayed put at 11th following a 13-9 win versus Air Force.
The matchup with Denver will be the first of three straight for Duke against teams ranked in the USILA top 20. The Blue Devils meet up with No. 17 Delaware, Feb. 22 and No. 10 Penn, Feb. 26.
Dyson Williams is Duke's leading scorer with 14 goals and two assists for 16 points. Joe Robertson (7g, 8a) and Brennan O'Neill (11g, 3a) are right behind him with 15 and 14 points, respectively. The starting attack trio have 44 percent of Duke's points this season.
Sean Lulley, playing both attack and midfield with Williams, has five goals and five assists, while Nakeie Montgomery is the top scoring midfielder at eight points (5g, 3a).
Defensively, Kenny Brower is the anchor down low and has six caused turnovers and 14 ground balls. Longstick midfielder Tyler Carpenter sports a team-best eight caused turnovers and has picked up 16 ground balls.
In goal, Mike Adler has been outstanding, averaging 13.5 saves per game and sporting a .581 save percentage. He has made 16 saves twice already this season.

By the Numbers
857 – Combined wins between Duke head coach John Danowski and Denver head coach Bill Tierney

10 – NCAA Division I lacrosse titles won by Danowski (3) and Tierney (7)

12 – Points Joe Robertson needs to become the 14th Blue Devil to record 200 career points

71 - Career points for Dyson Williams

16 – Points in 2022 for Williams, just nine away from his total in 15 games in 2021

69 - Career points for Brennan O'Neill in his 21 games for a 3.29 points per game average

.818 – Man-down percentage for the Blue Devils after four games

642 – Career saves for Mike Adler, the most of any current Division I goaltender and 90 away from moving into the all-time top 25 list

10 – Of the 15 games between Duke and Denver that have been decided by three or fewer goals

2.8 – Average scoring margin between the Blue Devils and Pioneers in the past 10 outings

Scouting Denver

Denver comes to Durham for the second consecutive season. The Pioneers are 2-0 with a narrow 14-13 win versus Utah and a 13-9 victory against Air Force. This is the Pioneers' first of five trips East of the Mississippi and the first of two adventures to the Triangle.
The Pioneers were voted to finish second in the BIG EAST with Jack Hannah being voted the league's Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. Additionally, Alex Simmons was tabbed to the BIG EAST All-Preseason Team.
JJ Sillstrop paces the offense with eight goals and two assists, while Ted Sullivan does it all with six goals and four assists. The Pioneers are averaging 43 shots per game.
On the defensive end of the field, Denver is forcing opponents into 15.5 turnovers per game with Jake Edinger leading the way with three caused turnovers. He also has five ground balls. Alex Stathakis is the man at the faceoff dot, winning 35-of-57 restarts and picking up 18 ground balls. He is the lone Pioneer to take a faceoff.
Both Jack Thompson and Gole French have started a game for the Pioneers. Thompson earned the start versus Air Force and made nine saves, while French had 13 against Utah.

A Win Over Denver Would

Be head coach John Danowski's 436th career win
Be Danowski's 217th win at Duke
Be the program's 606th overall victory
Be Duke's 118th top 20 victory since 2007

Series History - Denver

Duke and Denver are meeting for the 16th time in the programs' histories and for the 12th straight season. The Blue Devils are 9-6 all-time against the Pioneers and 6-5 since Bill Tierney took over the coaching duties.
Eight of the 11 matchups since 2011 have been decided by three-or-fewer goals and five by two-or-fewer. Duke has won four straight by an average of 1.75 goals per game. Denver's lone victory over the Blue Devils in Durham came in 2013.

Last Time We Met

Duke trailed 8-3 with 3:25 left in the second quarter before Griffin Catlett scored a goal 90 seconds before halftime to give the team a lift heading into the locker room. Duke came out in the third quarter and tallied five of the period's seven goals to make it a 10-9 contest heading into the fourth. Duke held Denver scoreless for the final 17:14 en route to the victory.
Brennan O'Neill had three goals and four points in his collegiate debut, while Michael Sowers had a goal and three assists. In goal, Turner Uppgren came off the bench in the second quarter and went on to make 11 saves to earn the victory.

Comeback Kids Against the Pioneers

In three of the past four Duke victories, Duke has had to rally back from sizable deficits in the second half. In the 2018, 2019 and 2021 matchups, the Pioneers led by at least four goals after three quarters before Duke clawed its way to wins at Koskinen.
In 2021, the Blue Devils held the Pioneers scoreless for the final 17:14 to clip the Pioneers, 14-12. In both the 2018 and 2019 games, the Blue Devils were behind by four goals after three periods. In 2019, it was an unbelievable finish as Joey Manown scooped up a ground ball and fired a shot with seven seconds left to give Duke the 10-9 win. In those three wins, Duke allowed just three goals in the fourth quarter, all of which came in 2019.

Joe Robertson is a Pioneer Problem

Despite the Blue Devils having played Denver each of the past four seasons Joe Robertson has only faced the Pioneers twice as a freshman and sophomore. He missed the 2020 season to injury and did not play last season due to COVID-19 protocols. However, he has been an issue for Denver in the two games he has played, registering eight goals and nine points.
In his rookie season, Robertson scored three of the game's final four goals as Duke rallied from a 12-8 deficit in the fourth quarter to win 15-12. He followed that the year later with four goals and an assist in the final 13:47 to help Duke come back to win 10-9.

Against Ranked Opponents

Since 2007, Duke is 118-51 (.698) versus top-20 opponents and is set to play 10 games against current top-20 teams, including seven in the top 10.

Home Sweet Home

Duke had its 14-game win streak snapped last weekend, but the Blue Devils have always fared well at home overall.
Duke is 126-24 in games in Durham under head coach John Danowski. The Blue Devils have gone unbeaten at home three times since 2007.

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