Men’s Lacrosse Game of the Week: No. 3 Duke vs No. 2 Virginia
A top-three men’s lacrosse showdown is on the horizon and approaching. Featuring ACC rivals with the No. 3 Duke Blue Devils battling the No. 2 Virginia Cavaliers.
The opening faceoff is slated for Saturday at noon at the Blue Devils’ home soil of Koskinen Stadium.
The victor will be aiming to gain some leverage and potentially snatch the No. 1 spot from Notre Dame. Each of the last four weeks has provided a new top team in the country.
Speaking of Notre Dame, the Irish recently defeated the Blue Devils 17-12 last Saturday in Duke’s latest matchup. Duke’s leading scorer Dyson Williams netted three goals in the loss. Williams boasts 39 goals on the season, which is tied for third in Men’s Division I.
For the Cavaliers, they tallied the win column with a crushing 19-12 defeat against North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Payton Cormier paved the way with five goals and two assists. Cormier claims 4.25 goals per game, which places him second in Division I behind CJ Kirst of Cornell.
Duke and Virginia square off for the second time in two weeks, as the Blue Devils surmounted the Cavaliers in Charlottesville on March 31 with a 16-14 win. Duke’s Brennan O’Neill lodged six goals and three assists. Williams and Garrett Leadmon each earned hat tricks. Virginia’s Cormier scored six times and Xander Dickson followed with four goals.
The Blue Devils sit atop a 10-2 overall record with a 3-1 conference record, and the Cavaliers come in at 8-2 overall and post a 2-1 record in conference play.
This would be the opportune time for the Cavaliers to snag revenge at this point in the season in the highly-competitive ACC standings. Virginia has proven to be road warriors, as all three road games have been victories of five goals or more. Virginia also leads Division I in goals per game with 18.20.
Duke’s offense is nothing to scoff at though, as 15.25 goals per game places them sixth in the category. O’Neill has won the ACC Offensive Player of the Week four times this season; one of his many accolades that supports the notion of O’Neill being one of the best players in the country.
You can expect to see another instance of nail-biting action between these prolific offenses, with even more intensity than before because of the implications: The Blue Devils are striving to retain the conference lead and slide further in the top three, and the Cavaliers are seeking vengeance with the No. 1 ranking posing as a possibility.
To add even more drama to the mix, Duke has defeated Virginia in 16 consecutive regular-season games. April 17, 2004, was the last time the Cavaliers knocked off the Blue Devils. Outside of the regular season, Virginia last overcame Duke in the 2019 NCAA tournament semifinals.
Jake Irwin is a junior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email jpi5089@psu.edu.
