May 12, 2007

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Top-seeded Duke received five goals from Zack Greer while Matt Danowski dished out a career-high seven assists as the Blue Devils defeated Providence, 18-3, in the opening round of the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Tournament on Saturday afternoon at Koskinen Stadium in Durham, N.C.

The Blue Devils improve to 15-2 overall and advance to the NCAA quarterfinals to meet the winner of Navy-North Carolina next Sunday in Annapolis, Md. The win marked Duke's 11th at home this year, breaking the previous school single-season record of 10 set by the 2005 club.

The Friars conclude their season at 7-10.

The Blue Devils held a decisive advantage in the shot column, 53-6, while securing 17-of-24 face-offs in the contest.

Duke got on the scoreboard at the 8:02 mark of the opening period when Matt Danowski netted an unassisted goal. The Blue Devils pushed the advantage to two goals when Danowski fed Zack Greer for a tally with 5:37 remaining in the quarter.

The Friars cut the lead in half with a man-down goal at the 2:44 mark when Devin McBride beat a diving Dan Loftus for a score. Duke claimed a 4-1 lead after one period as Brad Ross and Fred Krom each scored in the final two minutes of the quarter.

Ross kicked off the scoring in the second period with a goal from Ned Crotty less than one minute into the quarter. Greer then scored two goals less than two minutes apart midway through the period for a 7-1 lead before Danowski's unassisted tally with 3:47 remaining increased the margin to seven goals.

Danowski found Greer for a goal with just six seconds before halftime and Duke entered the lockerroom ahead at intermission, 9-1.

Max Quinzani scored just under two minutes into the third quarter on a pass from Danowski. The assist pushed Danowski past former Duke standout Tony Cullen into first place on the school's all-time chart with 115.

With 11:34 left in the third quarter, the teams were forced to endure a two-hour, one-minute weather delay. Following the break, Duke reeled off four goals in a five-minute stretch to take a 14-1 lead on Gibbs Fogarty's goal from Danowski at the 5:42 mark. Michael Young and Fogarty added tallies to close the third quarter scoring a give the Blue Devils a 16-1 advantage.

Providence's Bennett Murphy scored consecutive goals in the final quarter before Duke's Chris Loftus accounted for the final margin with the last goal of the day.