Duke Caps Homestand with 18-6 Victory over Air Force

Monday, March 20

Durham, N.C.

7 p.m.

Duke University

8-1

Air Force

5-3

Air Force

Duke University

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Duke Caps Homestand with 18-6 Victory over Air Force

3/20/2023 10:30:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score Box Score

DURHAM – Nine different Blue Devils scored goals and 11 different players registered a point to send fourth-ranked Duke to an 18-6 victory over Air Force in non-conference men's lacrosse action Monday night at Koskinen Stadium. Duke has won six straight and remains unbeaten at home.

Defensively, Duke (8-1) was equally as impressive in holding Air Force to just one goal in the first half and keeping the Falcons scoreless for a stretch of 23:01 spanning the first and third quarters.

Junior Dyson Williams finished the night with four goals, while Brennan O'Neill had three goals and an assist. Senior Connor Drake notched his first tally of the season.

How it Happened

Duke, like it has done in the previous two victories, jumped all over Air Force, going up 5-1 in the first quarter and 10-1 at halftime. Williams, O'Neill, sophomore Andrew McAdorey and freshman Charles Balsamo each had two goals apiece in the first half.
The Blue Devils scored the first four goals of the game before Air Force midfielder Ethan Grandolfo put the Falcons on the board at the 2:49 mark of the opening frame.
The second quarter was all Duke as the Blue Devils scored three goals in 44 seconds to extend the lead to 8-1. Owen Caputo had the first of his two on the day at the 11:53 mark. O'Neill dropped in his second 21 seconds later and Williams capped the 44-second spurt off an assist from Charlie O'Connor. O'Connor finished his night with a goal and two assists. Balsamo and Williams tacked on goals late in the period to send Duke into the half with a nine-goal lead.
Junior Aidan Danenza and Williams scored 48 seconds apart to start the third period, making it a 12-1 game. Air Force answered on an unassisted tally from Brandon Dodd and a man-up score from Grandolfo to make it 13-4. Grandolfo finished with three goals. Dodd had a goal and three assists.
Arguably the best goal of the night came with one second left on the clock in the third quarter. Sophomore Keith Boyer collected a loose ball, sent a perfect outlet to midfield for the Blue Devils to clear. From that point it was textbook fastbreak offense from Will Frisoli to McAdorey to O'Connor to Williams on the doorstep for the finish.
Once again, junior Jake Naso was excellent at the faceoff dot, winning 13-of-17 and picking up 10 ground balls. Freshman Luke Engelke won 4-of-5 and Jamie Zusi was 3-of-5 on the draw.
On the defensive side of the ball, Duke held Air Force to just 12 shots on cage and forced the Falcons into 21 turnovers. Senior Kenny Brower had three caused turnovers and two ground balls, while Boyer and freshman Henry Bard both had one and two, respectively.
In goal, William Helm picked up win No. 8 with four saves. Andrew Bonafede and Garrett Smith both made one stop in relief. Sophomore Brodie Taweel also saw 86 seconds of action.
Duke won the ground ball battle in commanding fashion, 42-21, and went 3-of-4 on man-down situations. Caputo netted an extra-man score for the Blue Devils.
Air Force goalie Jason Rose made 13 saves in 54 minutes of action.

Notes

Freshman Henry Bard made his first career start against Air Force and finished with a caused turnover and two ground balls.
Brennan O'Neill recorded his 25th career hat trick while Dyson Williams notched his 24th career game with at least three goals.
Charlie O'Connor matched his career-high with three points (1g, 2a).
Jake Naso won 13 faceoffs to push his career total to 617, ranking second in Duke program history and leading all active juniors.
Twenty-two different Blue Devils have registered a point this season following Connor Drake notching his first goal of 2023.
Graduate student Garrett Leadmon had two goals and an assist to push his season points total to 19, matching his mark in 18 games as a freshman. His 15 goals are two fewer than he had in his previous three seasons combined.
Owen Caputo registered two goals and an assist for his fifth multiple-point performance this season. He has 20 points after nine games, two more than he had in 17 games last season.
Brodie Taweel made his first appearance in goal for the Blue Devils, playing the final 1:26.