Duke stands out in a crowd

Blue Devils will be tough to stop

Matt Danowski, the nation's leading scorer, hopes to lead Duke to the Final Four in Foxborough. (Gerry Broome/Associated Press)

In two weeks, when the semifinalists of the NCAA Division 1 men's lacrosse tournament arrive at Gillette Stadium, it's a good bet Duke will be among them.

"As we've watched the season unfold, you see teams like Syracuse, Virginia, Johns Hopkins - a lot of us look alike," said Dom Starsia, coach of second-seeded Virginia. "We've all played one-goal games and gone into overtime, and a lot of the teams are a lot alike.

"Then there's Duke," Starsia added. "To me, they're the best team in the field. Somebody's going to have to beat them at some point. They stand out."

Duke, the No. 1 seed of the 16-team field, rolled through the regular season, winning all but one game. On April 27, the Blue Devils claimed the Atlantic Coast Conference championship with an 11-9 win over Starsia's Cavaliers, displaying the characteristics that make them the favorites for the national crown.

"They're unusually experienced and so good offensively," Starsia said. "They're so good when the ball is on the ground. They're as creative an offensive team as I've seen in some time. Some of it has to do with talent. But they've got the right pieces together and the right complement of players. They're playing with such swagger. They all believe they can make plays and they're making them.

"When they're hitting on all cylinders, they're so tough. They've got good team speed, great stickwork, great sense of the game, and great talent. They're a fun group to watch when they're flying around on offense. Unfortunately, I'm on the other sideline part of the time."

Duke, which kicks off the tournament today with a home match against Loyola (Md.), benefited from an NCAA ruling May 30, 2007, that granted an extra year of eligibility to the players who lost part of the 2006 season because of the much-publicized rape allegations.

Players such as attackman Matt Danowski and goalie Dan Loftus, who would have closed out their careers last year, were eligible again this season. Danowski, the 2007 winner of the Tewaaraton Trophy as the country's most outstanding player, could win the award again this season. Danowski, son of coach John Danowski, leads the nation with 84 points and is 3 shy of matching the NCAA career scoring record held by Air Force's Joe Vasta (343).

"They use him all over the field - up top, wings, behind, inside, outside. It doesn't matter," said Kevin Corrigan, coach of sixth-seeded Notre Dame, who classified Danowski as one of college lacrosse's all-time greats. "The fact is he can do all those things and do them well. The kid's got a mind like a coach. He grew up in a lacrosse family. He's always loved the game. He plays the game with great passion. As a player, I love him. He's everything you want in a player."

Duke also boasts senior Zack Greer, one of the other four Tewaaraton finalists. Greer, cousin of Boston Bruins forward Shawn Thornton, has scored a nation-leading 56 goals. He is the all-time leading goal-scorer in NCAA history, entering today's match with 197 strikes in 64 games. Danowski is considered the more creative playmaker, while Greer is the finisher.

Loftus boasts a 6.78 goals-against average and .633 save percentage. But with his teammates averaging an NCAA-best 15.4 goals per outing, Loftus isn't expected to be a game-saver.

"With them, it's not a chess match," said Georgetown coach David Urick. "They're not going to slow the game down. They're not going to try and outmaneuver you with X's and O's and intricate offensive patterns and strategies. They're extremely well-coached, but they also play the game at a fast tempo that I think a lot of us enjoy watching."

Although Urick's Hoyas didn't qualify for the tournament, they proved that Duke isn't invincible. On March 22, Georgetown tagged Duke with its only loss, 11-7. Georgetown held Danowski to two goals and two assists and limited Greer to a lone goal. Urick matched defenseman Jerry Lambe, the ECAC Defensive Player of the Year, against Danowski. The two were teammates at Farmingdale (N.Y.) High School.

"He was up to the challenge," Urick said of Lambe. "You don't hold Danowski to no goals or no points, but you don't want him to have a career day against you, either. The last couple years, Jerry has done a fairly admirable job trying to contain Matt. That helped us a lot. It was one of those things where we played very well that day. We might have caught them down a little bit. Things went our way and we were fortunate to come away with the win. The Jerry-Matt matchup was significant, and our goalie [Miles Kass] had a big day, which you certainly need to have against Duke."

If Duke falters, Virginia, Syracuse (No. 3 seed), North Carolina (No. 4), defending champion Johns Hopkins (No. 5), and Notre Dame could challenge for the title. Virginia, which boasts a Tewaaraton finalist in attackman Ben Rubeor, hosts Maryland-Baltimore County tomorrow. Rubeor is complemented up front by Garrett Billings and Danny Glading, who each have 53 points.

Syracuse is led by Tewaaraton finalist Mike Leveille (64 points); North Carolina features a pair of All-ACC players in midfielder Ben Hunt and goalie Grant Zimmerman; Johns Hopkins (NCAA-record 37th straight tournament appearance) beat Duke in last year's championship match; and Notre Dame relies on defense, led by defensemen Sean Dougherty and Ross Zimmerman and goalie Joey Kemp.

The Division 1 semifinal games will be played in Foxborough May 24 (noon and 2:30 p.m.). The Division 2 and 3 championship games will take place May 25 (also at Gillette), and the D-1 title game is May 26 at Gillette at 1 p.m.

Fluto Shinzawa can be reached at fshinzawa@globe.com.