#3 Duke men’s lacrosse tops Rutgers 16-8, Danowski gets 300th win
The
#3 Duke Blue Devils started their season with a 16-8 win over the
Rutgers Scarlet Knights and helped coach John Danowski reach a career
milestone at Koskinen Stadium in Durham, N.C. on Saturday
afternoon.Midfielders Robert Rotanz...
In-game notes and details:
It's an overcast afternoon at Koskinen Stadium on the campus of Duke University as the #3 Blue Devils prepare to kick-off their season as they host the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.
Duke coach John Danowski will earn his 300th career win if his Blue Devils beat Rutgers today.
Donowski currently holds a 299-158 record in 29 seasons as a head coach and will become the sixth Division I coach in NCAA history to reach the 300-win plateau.
Follow the action here as in-game details will be listed throughout.
Faceoff is in 15 minutes.
Warm-up - Rutgers vs Duke - Peter Koutroumpis, PKS Consulting LLC
1st Quarter
- Duke returns 8 starters and 32 letter winners from last season's NCAA semi-final team
- Six Blue Devils earned preseason All-America honors - CJ Costabile, Michael Manley, David Lawson, Justin Turri, Jordan Wolf, and Robert Rotanz
- Duke brings in nine newcomers
- Rutgers kicks off its season against the Blue Devils under new head coach Brian Brecht's leadership
- The Scarlet Knights are coming off a 6-9 season and look to make an impression against the powerful Duke Blue Devils
- Duke 's CJ Costabile wins the face and dishes inside but the Blue Devils miss early
- Duke controls the offense with Jordan working the offense from X
- The Blue Devils score at 13:59 as Robert Rotanz gives the Blue Devils an early 1-0 lead
- Duke controlling the offense with patient ball movement
- Blue Devils look to keep Rutgers' defense playing with their heads on a swivel starting the offense from behind the goal
- Rutgers goalie Rudy Butler getting a lot of work early on as Duke has held the Scarlet Knights pinned in their end of the field
- Rutgers takes a timeout at 11:41 to settle themselves down and regroup
- Scarlet Knights' Nicholas Contino strips the ball and Rutgers gets their first offensive set
- After moving the ball around the horn, Michael Diehl ties the game up 1-1 at 10:17 as Duke goalie Dan Wigrizer gets handcuffed on the shot
- Duke wins the ensuing faceoff but can't convert on it and Rutgers gets a clean clear and draw a penalty to go on the man-up with just under 10 minutes to play in the quarter
- Jake Tripucka and David Lawson get possession on the man-down and head upfield to kill the penalty and are now all-even with possession in the Rutgers end
- Lawson takes a feed from Josh Offit and Duke leads 2-1 at the 8:00 mark
- Blue Devils' Rotanz scores another one to extend score to 3-1 at 7:18
- Duke currently outshooting Rutgers 14-2
- Diehl scores another for Rutgers to shorten Duke lead to 3-2 with 6:07 remaining in the first half
- Duke on the offensive for a few minutes until Jordan Wolf feeds Lawson who extends Duke lead to 4-2 at 4:49
- Costabile gets a pass at top left and tries to let one go like his NCAA championship winner from from 2010 but misses way high
- Penalty coming up on the Blue Devils - Scarlet Knights man-up offense gets another chance
- Rutgers maintaining good ball movement but Duke defense and slides are keeping the Scarlet Knights along the box lines and not able to penetrate of generate a good shot from the outside
- Scarlet Knights take a timeout to work it out - still on the man-up offense
- Rutgers comes up scoreless and Duke transitions play onto the offense working from the top
- Duke sets up a 1-4-1 iso play for Rotanz who beats Butler to put Duke ahead 5-2 with 12 seconds left in the quarter
- End of 1st quarter: Duke 5, Rutgers 2
- Duke wins the faceoff to start the quarter and Will Haus hits the post on the first shot attempt
- Rutgers has a little trouble clearing but get it up to the offense
- Scarlet Knights work the ball around as a delayed penalty to Duke allows them to get a shot off that Wigrizer saves - Rutgers gets their third extra-man opportunity
- Rutgers scores as Brian Goss nets on at 12:15 - Duke leads 5-3 in the second quarter
- Rutgers wins the faceoff and have the opportunity to move within one
- No luck as Duke turns it over to head down the other way
- Rutgers' defense starting to assert themselves and get the ball back to clear it upfield
- Undisciplined play costs Duke another penalty - Rutgers 1-3 so far on the extra-man offense
- Rutgers scores again to shorten Duke lead to 5-4 with 9:31 to go in the half - goal scored by Nicholas Depaolera
- Duke back on the offense and trying to get back the rhythm they established early in the game
- Rutgers defense playing in zone formation and keeping Duke's ball movement to the outside
- Blue Devils get first opportunity on the man-up with just under seven minutes to go
- Rutgers clearing it on the man-down but are called offside - Duke gets the ball back still on the man-up
- Duke takes advantage of it as Josh Dionne scores at 5:57 on a pass from Jordan Wolf - Duke leads 6-4
- Christian Walsh drives from behind the goal and scores one on the crease as Blue Devils now lead 7-4 at the 4:24 mark
- Duke wins the faceoff and work the offense from behind the cage again and Walsh scores again at 3:53
- Even with Duke doubling its lead to 8-4 late in the half, Rutgers goalie Butler has already made 7 big saves on the day while Duke keeper Wigrizer has only needed to make two saves on nine shots
- Rotanz scores again for the Blue Devils with 1:10 left - Duke now leads 9-4
- Rutgers turns it over and Duke clears and takes a timeout to set up one last scoring opportunity
- 1st half of play ends with the Blue Devils leading 9-4
- Rutgers gets on the offense early and Will Mangan beats Wigrizer at 14:04 cutting Duke lead to 9-5
- Butler continues to make saves to keep Rutgers in the game - nine so far
- Big fast break, first of the game for Duke and Wolf misses on the shot past Butler
- Duke's Wolf bull dodges to the crease and is pushed from behind - Blue Devils go on the man-up for the second time today - Rutgers coaches not happy on the call
- Duke can't convert on the first series with the extra-man offense - turn it over and Rutgers' DePaolera scores one shorthanded to reduce Duke lead to 9-6
- Blue Devils take another bad penalty following Rutgers' goal - Rutgers takes one as well
- Even with extra man Rutgers respects Duke's offense
- As Duke gets back to even-strength, Jake Tripucka snipes one at 7:13 from the top-left position that beats Butler to his top right - Duke leads 10-6
- As Butler can't pick a ball up in his crease, Duke's Lawson sweeps it in the goal at 6:11 and Duke has a five-goal lead
- Rutgers transitions into the offense but turns it over on a tipped pass - Duke begins its clear
- Aggressive midfield play creates some messy ground ball play - Rutgers called for a push and Duke gets the ball
- Duke turns it over and Butler leads the Rutgers clear - big save by Wigrizer before Rutgers hits the post on a successive shot
- Rutgers maintaining its best offensive ball control during the third quarter and peppering Wigrizer with shot after shot, but are not connecting
- Rutgers continues to apply the pressure entering the final minute of play in the quarter - Wigrizer and the defense maintaining Rutgers' ball movement to the outside
- Wigrizer makes a big save on Will Mangan and as Wolf gets a shot off on Butler, he makes the save as time winds down
- Duke leads 11-6 at the end of the quarter.
- Duke starts the quarter by winning the faceoff and establishing the offense in a 1-4-1 formation
- Rutgers' defense adjusts as Duke works the ball from side left to behind and then to top right where Lawson drives and beats Butler high to the opposite corner at 13:25 - Duke leads 12-6 - largest lead of the day
- Blue Devils set up the offense and Justin Turri scores his first at 12:37 on a similar drive from top right that beats Butler - Duke has taken 44 shots so far today while the Rutgers keeper has done a great job in stopping 13
- The cold and lack of defensive slides allow Jake Tripucka to come down the right side again to beat Butler on the short side and down low
- Time out taken with 11:47 remaining and the Blue Devils leading the Scarlet Knights 14-6
- Rutgers finally gets the ball up to the offense and Will Mangan snipes one from side left on Wigrizer - Scarlet Knights now trail 14-7
- On the ensuing faceoff Rutgers gets possession and works to set up another one
- Wigrizer makes a big save on a sidearm shot from Rutgers' Diehl and Duke takes a penalty on the play - Rutgers gets a two-minute extra-man opportunity to inch close tot he Blue Devils
- Duke's Wigrizer makes another big save on Kevin Hover while the Scarlet Knights maintain possession on the man-up
- After getting the pass at top center, Hover doesn't miss and beats Wigrizer with 8:25 remaining on the man-up - cuts Duke lead to 14-8
- After a timeout, Rutgers maintaining offensive pressure against the Blue Devils but missing wide on numerous shot before Wigrizer makes a save and the Blue Devils clear it into the Rutgers end
- Scarlet Knights playing tight and aggressive defense and are penalized for slashing - Duke goes on the extra-man offense with 4:43 to to
- Butler makes a big save on Duke's Dionne as he cuts through the middle and play transitions into Duke's end
- Rutgers can't keep possession and the Blue Devils get one last chance on the man-up - coach Danowski calls a timeout to set it up
- Justin Turri's shot hits the cross bar and Butler can't find it, but Kyle Keenan scores on the rebound putting Duke up 15-8 with just over three minutes to go
- Rutgers gets another man-up opportunity with under three minutes to play
- The Scarlet Knights miss on a shot and then turn it over in the dash to the line - Duke ball with under 2 minutes to play
- Rutgers applies the 10-man ride with Duke still a man down, but Josh Offit scores on the open goal as Duke doubles the score again 16-8
- As time counts down, Duke coach John Danowski earns career win #300 over his alma mater - Duke is now 1-0 on the season
