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 (4 g) and David Lawson (3 g) led the Blue Devils offense as eight different scorers contributed to the season-opening win against the Scarlet Knights.
With the win, Danowski earned his 300th career victory as a head coach and become only the sixth NCAA lacrosse coach in history to do so.
Perspective on the milestone
According to Rotanz, Danowski’s outlook for the game was low key and had no emphasis attached to his career milestone.
“First game of the year, everyone was very excited to get out there,” Rotanz said. “Coach told us at the beginning of the week that 300 was just another game for him.”
For Danowski, getting the win over Rutgers, a program that as a player he helped advance to the NCAA tournament in 1973 and 1974, brought to light where one’s journey can lead them.
“That’s just a coincidence,” Danowski said of his 300th victory coming against his alma mater. “Coincidentally, it was also the first game that I ever coached that was against Rutgers at Rutgers Stadium - and we lost,” Danowski continued. “So I don’t know, life sometimes comes around full circle.”
Teamwork
When asked what he thought about his team’s performance against a tenacious Rutgers team, Danowski was pleased with the effort.
“I was very proud with how they handled themselves and competed today for 60 minutes," Danowski said.”
“I think in any team sport, the teams that accomplish more are those that are team-oriented. If you’re relying on one or two people, it’s not fun for the other guys. It’s about your teammate, the guy next to you, everybody trusting everyone to make a play on the field – if you can do that and keep everyone healthy – it’s certainly a lot more fun.”
It’s evident that Danowski’s coaching philosophy translated to his players through their performance on the field and in how they articulated what they had to do to be successful.
“Do what they teach us – play hard on the wings, box out, get the hard ground balls - just be unselfish on offense,” Rotanz said. “ Today I was lucky to get a few in there, but next week I’ll be just as happy if somebody else got four. It’s all about winning at the end of the day. You can’t beat great teams without teamwork.”
The opposition
Even in falling behind 5-2 during the first quarter, Rutgers goalkeeper Rudy Butler helped keep his team in the game while they eventually transitioned to their offense and got to within a goal, only trailing Duke 5-4 during the second quarter.
“We knew that they were going to bring it,” Lawson said of the Scarlet Knights. “When you play at Duke, you’re going to get everyone’s best game, so that is what we expected - that they were going to come out and play hard against us.”
As the Blue Devils created numerous turnovers while overwhelming the Scarlet Knights defense at various points throughout the game, they took advantage of their time of possession by taking 51 total shots on Butler who managed to make solid stops on 16 of them.
Rutgers exhibited exceptional offense in spurts and put together three separate two-goal runs during each of the final three quarters of play.
However, the Scarlet Knights couldn't generate enough momentum to get any closer to Duke as the Blue Devils matched them with bigger scoring runs of their own.
“Give a lot of credit to Duke, they are a talented team – coach Danowski is a tremendous coach and he’s earned all 300 wins,” Rutgers coach Brian Brecht stated. “I would’ve wished that we could have made them work for it a little bit more today, but they’ve got a talented team, they’re ranked near the top for a reason, and coach Danowski is a helluva coach.”
A special place
After the final horn had blown and his team had helped him achieve his career milestone during his 30th season as a head coach, Danowski was asked what it was about Duke that helped to make his coaching experience and career even more successful during the past five years.
“At the end of the day, this is Duke - this is a special place," Danowski said.
”The students here are not better or worse than others, but they’re different in an extremely positive way. They see a future beyond Duke and are very goal-oriented and have a tremendous work ethic. They come here wanting to excel not only athletically, but in and out of the classroom. It’s one of those places where students can do that - fulfill their potential - and that makes our job that much easier.”
Coupled with Danowksi’s team-first philosophy, it’s not surprising to hear members of this year’s team ready to accept the challenge to be successful.
“We have a tough schedule – there really are no gimmes,” Rotanz stated. "You gotta’ play your best every week.”
Danowski and the Blue Devils now prepare to exhibit their best on the road when they travel to South Bend, Ind. to take on the #9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Saturday.
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