Duke to face Virginia in ACC Lacrosse Championship

Posted Saturday, April 28, 2007

 E-mail this page    Printer-friendly page

Durham, NC - The Duke Blue Devils will play the Virginia Cavaliers for the ACC Lacrosse championship title Sunday at 3:30 p.m. at Koskinen Stadium on the Duke campus in Durham.

FACING OFF
• Duke owns an overall record of 12-2 and is ranked second nationally in the latest USILA (coaches) and Nike/Inside Lacrosse (media) polls
• The Blue Devils are 6-1 this season against teams currently ranked in the top 10 of the USILA national poll
• Duke is 35-7 over the last three seasons

ACC TOURNAMENT
• With its 13-9 win over North Carolina in the semifinals on Friday night, Duke improved to 12-14 overall in ACC Tournament play including a 9-9 ledger in semifinal tilts
• Duke is 3-5 in championship games, earning league tournament titles in 1995, 2001 and 2002

DUKE’S ACC TOURNAMENT RESULTS
1989 Duke 7, Maryland 6
North Carolina 18, Duke 6
1990 Virginia 18, Duke 13
1991 North Carolina 11, Duke 8
1992 Maryland 8, Duke 6
1993 North Carolina 13, Duke 6
1994 Virginia 19, Duke 13
1995 Duke 17, Virginia 10
Duke 14, North Carolina 6
1996 North Carolina 18, Duke 8
1997 Duke 17, Maryland 10
Virginia 12, Duke 6
1998 Virginia 11, Duke 9
1999 Duke 9, North Carolina 7
Virginia 8, Duke 7
2000 Maryland 7, Duke 6
2001 Duke 11, North Carolina 9
Duke 10, Maryland 6
2002 Duke 8, Maryland 7 (OT)
Duke 14, Virginia 13
2003 Duke 7, Maryland 6
Virginia 12, Duke 6
2004 Maryland 10, Duke 7
2005 Duke 13, North Carolina 11
Maryland 9, Duke 5
2007 Duke 13, North Carolina 9

IMPRESSIVE SO FAR
• Duke’s 12-2 record in 2007 matches the second-best 14-game start in school history ... The 1999 Duke squad also opened 12-2 while the 2005 unit was 13-1 after 14 games
• The 12 victories equal the school’s third-best singleseason standard for wins ... The 2005 Blue Devils hold the record at 17 followed by the 1999 team with 13 and the 1997 and 2007 squads with 12

THE DUKE-VIRGINIA SERIES
• Virginia leads the all-time series with Duke, 48-17
• The Blue Devils are 2-6 versus the Cavaliers in ACC Tournament action
• Duke and Virginia have met in the ACC Tournament championship game four times with the Cavaliers winning in 1997 (12-6), 1999 (8-7) and 2003 (12-6) while the Blue Devils secured the crown in 2002 (14-13)
• Duke earned a 7-6 overtime win over the Cavaliers on April 14 in Durham with Brad Ross scoring a career-high three goals including the game-winner
• The Blue Devils have won five out of the last six meetings played in Durham
• On April 21, 2002 at Koskinen Stadium, Duke defeated then top-ranked Virginia, 14-13, in the ACC Tournament championship game

DUKE 13, NORTH CAROLINA 9
• Matt Danowski recorded two goals and four assists while Zack Greer added three goals as Duke downed North Carolina, 13-9, on Friday night in the ACC Tournament semifinals
• The Tar Heels surged to a 3-1 lead early, but the Blue Devils scored five unanswered goals to end the first period and claim a 6-3 advantage
• North Carolina trailed 7-5 at halftime, and cut the lead to one less than five minutes into the third period, but the Blue Devils responded with six consecutive goals for a 13-7 advantage midway through the final quarter
• Bo Carrington and Ned Crotty each had two goals to aid the Duke offense
• North Carolina was led by Michael Burns’ five goals

IMPROVED EMO
• Duke’s extra man offense didn’t get off to a fast start in 2007 as the Blue Devils converted just two-of-19 (.105) opportunities through their first five games
• Over its last eight outings, however, Duke has managed to score 15 goals in 31 (.484) man-up situations including a 3-for-3 effort on Friday night versus North Carolina
• Zack Greer (7) and Matt Danowski (5) have combined for 12 of Duke’s 17 extra man goals this season.

DUKE AT HOME
• Duke is 8-1 at Koskinen Stadium this season and 23-3 over its last 26 home games

MATT DANOWSKI
• 2005 & 2007 ACC Player of the Year is one of three multi-year winners of the award in league history
• With 30 goals and 32 assists this season, is the only player in the country with 30+ goals and 30+ assists to his credit
• Has 21 assists over his last six games
• On the ACC’s all-time charts, ranks ninth in total points (222), 13th in assists (107) and 20th in goals (115)
• On Duke’s all-time lists, ranks second in points, third in assists and seventh in goals
• Has started all 55 games at Duke since arrival

ZACK GREER
• Tied with Virginia’s Ben Rubeor for the ACC lead in goals scored this season with 43
• Has scored five or more goals in five games this season
• Has 22 career hatricks
• Has 117 goals in 41 career games
• Ranks 17th on the ACC career list for goals
• All-ACC choice in 2007

DAN LOFTUS
• Is 20-5 as a starter at Duke and the Blue Devils are 31-8 in games in which Loftus has appeared in
• Career winning percentage of .800 ranks third among active goalies behind Virginia’s Kip Turner and Cornell’s Matt McMonagle
• Registered a season-high 19 saves in Duke’s 6-4 win at Georgetown
• Owns a career-high of 20 saves set in 2006 against Maryland

NICK O’HARA
• Long stick midfielder is on pace to lead Duke in ground balls for the third straight season
• Had one goal in the semifinal win over North Carolina to push his season total to four
• All-ACC pick in 2007

NED CROTTY
• Had two goals on Friday in the win over North Carolina
• Now has six multi-goal games in 2007

CASEY CARROLL
• Credited for a team-high six ground balls against North Carolina in the semifinals
• Fully recovered from an ACL injury suffered last year
• All-ACC selection in 2007