Second-Half Surge Pushes Duke Past Towson, 14-7

Saturday, March 19

Washington D.C.

6 PM

Duke University

8-3

Towson University

3-5

Towson

Duke University

Photo by: Craig Chase

Second-Half Surge Pushes Duke Past Towson, 14-7

3/19/2022 9:56:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score BOX SCORE

WASHINGTON D.C. – Duke sophomore Brennan O'Neill scored six goals and handed out three assists to lead 12th-ranked Duke to a 14-7 victory over Towson in the Capitol Classic Lacrosse Tournament at Audi Field Saturday evening.

Duke (8-3) outscored Towson (3-5), 8-1, in the third quarter and 12-3 overall in the second half to overcome a 4-2 halftime deficit.

Sophomore Jake Naso was outstanding at the faceoff dot, winning 17-of-22 restarts and picking up 13 ground balls. Graduate student Mike Adler anchored a solid defensive effort with 14 saves as Duke held the Tigers to just three goals and 12 shots in the second half.

Junior Dyson Williams recorded his eighth hat trick of the season with three goals, while Andrew McAdorey had a goal and two assists.

Towson jumped out to a 3-0 lead, stifling Duke's offense for the first 20:30 of the game. Adler was excellent in the cage with seven first-quarter stops.

Graduate student Sean Lulley put the Blue Devils on the board with 8:30 on the clock in the second quarter and after a couple of Duke defensive stands, O'Neill made it a two-goal game with the first of his six on the evening.

The Tigers tacked on a goal with 1:40 remaining to head into halftime with the 4-2 advantage. Nick DeMaio led Towson with two goals and an assist.

The Blue Devils regrouped during halftime and came out on fire in the third quarter. O'Neill made it a 4-3 game 44 seconds into the stanza to spark a 7-0 run over a span of 7:09. Five different players netted goals, while O'Neill had two goals and three assists to lead the charge. Freshman Reed Landin was one of the five scorers as he recorded a goal for the second consecutive game.

After Towson got one back to stop Duke's run, McAdorey scored to put the Blue Devils ahead 10-5 with 15 minutes left in the game.

The fourth quarter was much of the same as O'Neill put on a show for the fans with three straight goals in 2:28, including one between the legs.

Defensively, junior Wilson Stephenson had six ground balls and a caused turnover, while Tyler Carpenter registered three ground balls and three caused turnovers on close defense. Short stick midfielder Garrett Leadmon finished his night with four ground balls, one caused turnover and an assist.

The Blue Devils open ACC play next weekend, traveling to Syracuse March 26. Faceoff is set for noon on ESPNU.

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