May 12, 2002

Freshmen Matt Monfett and Matt Rewkowski combined for seven goals and five assists as No. 5 Duke reeled off 17 unanswered goals on its way to a 22-6 rout of Hobart in the opening round of the NCAA Division I men's lacrosse tournament Sunday afternoon at the University of Delaware's Delaware Stadium.

Duke (8-6), the Atlantic Coast Conference champion, overcame a 6-5 deficit in the second quarter by holding the Statesmen without a goal for the final 42 minutes of the game to advance to next week's quarterfinal game vs. No. 2 Syracuse at Hofstra University. Hobart, which got two goals from John Bogosian, dropped its third straight game to end the season at 6-8. The setback was the worst playoff loss ever for the Statesmen.

The Blue Devils, who scored 11 goals in each half, set a school record for goals in a playoff game, surpassing the mark of 16 set vs. North Carolina in 1998. Duke's 17-0 run was strangely familiar to the two teams' 2000 NCAA playoff matchup in which the Blue Devils scored 13 straight goals in a 13-1 win.

"We made it a players game and didn't slow it down one bit," said Duke head coach Mike Pressler, whose team earned one of the final bids into the tournament field. "We proved a point today that we belonged here. Everybody counted us out and that hit home for our guys. Hats off to our guys. You win at this level with great attack players and for us to make a run, Matt and Matt had to step up. They are freshmen, but they are two key guys for us and they responded all year. We ask a lot of these guys and they saved their best for their first NCAA playoff game."

In all, 12 Duke players scored at least one goal with freshmen Monfett (four goals, three assists) and Rewkowski (three goals, two assists) leading the way. Alex Lieske, James Regan, Kevin Cassese, Dan Chemotti, and Ben Fenton each scored twice and Kevin Brennan added a goal and two assists. Despite the large margin of victory, Duke held a slim 44-40 advantage in shots and a 17-13 margin in faceoffs.

After Duke went up 3-1 midway through the first period, Hobart came back with two goals of its own for a 3-3 tie. The Blue Devils followed with two more goals to take a 5-3 lead into the second quarter before the Statesmen answered with three straight goals from Bogosian, Tim Booth, and Dave Spratlen for a 6-5 lead with 11:37 left before halftime. It was all Duke after that.

The Blue Devils scored the next 17 goals of the game to put things away quickly. Brennan scored with just 14 seconds left in the first half to send Duke into halftime up 11-6 and the Blue Devils scored four goals in a span of two minutes midway through the third stanza to blow the game open.

"We ran into a very good team today," said first-year Hobart head coach Matt Kerwick. "Our mistakes cost us early. We let up some easy goals and they got the momentum from that. I wish they would have stopped the game at 6-5. We gave Duke some easy looks and to their credit they took advantage. We just didn't handle the ball well. But I feel good about our guys and about the future of this team with so many young players. This was a great opportunity to play in the NCAA tournament."

AGATE:

Hobart........3........3........0.......0..........6  (6-8)
Duke..........5.........6.......5.......6.........22 (8-6)

Scoring:
Hobart - John Bogosian, 2 goals-0 assists, Dave Spratlen, 1-0, Nate Hill, 1-0, Tim Booth, 1-0, Sean Reed, 1-0; Scott Harvey, 0-2, Dave Occhialini, 0-1, Geoff Zbikowski, 0-1, Dan Cesere, 0-1. Duke - Matt Monfett, 4-3; Matt Rewkowski, 3-2, Alex Lieske, 2-1, James Regan, 2-0, Kevin Cassese, 2-0, Dan Chemotti, 2-0, Ben Fenton, 2-0, Kevin Brennan, 1-2, Mack Hardaker, 1-1, Chris Haunss, 1-1, Terrance Keaney, 1-0, Michael Satyshur, 1-0, Devan Wray, 0-1

Shots: Hobart - 40, Duke - 44; Saves: Hobart - 7 (Mike Borsz, 45 min., 16 goals, 6 saves; Dan Valente, 15 min., 6 goals, 1 save); Duke - 12 (A.J. Kincel, 52:56 min., 6 goals, 6 saves; Michael Russell, 7:04 min., 0 goals, 6 saves); Groundballs: Hobart - 42, Duke - 51; Faceoffs: Hobart - 13, Duke - 17; Clears: Hobart - 18 of 24, Duke - 24 of 29; Extra Man Goals: Hobart - 2 of 9, Duke - 1 of 3; Penalties: Hobart - 4 for 3:00, Duke - 10 for 8:00; Attendance: 1,121.

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