WRAL Sports Fan

WRALSportsFan

M LAX: Duke Handles Third-Ranked Maryland, 15-7

Mar 1, 2008

DURHAM, N.C. -- Zack Greer, Max Quinzani and Brad Ross scored three goals apiece and Sam Payton won 14-of-19 face-offs to lead second-ranked Duke to a 15-7 victory over third-ranked Maryland in front of 4,238 fans at Koskinen Stadium on Saturday night.

The Blue Devils improve to 3-0 overall and 1-0 in ACC play while the Terrapins fall to 2-1 overall and 0-1 in the league. The eight-goal margin is the largest for Duke in a win over Maryland, eclipsing the previous high of seven set in both 1997 (17-10 in ACC Tournament semifinals in Charlottesville, Va.) and 2007 (14-7 in College Park).

Ross gave Duke a 1-0 lead just over one minute into the contest with an unassisted goal, and the Terrapins countered when Travis Reed scored off a pass from Ryan Young with 11:27 left in the opening quarter. Fueled by Payton's success at the X, the Blue Devils then reeled off five consecutive goals, with Mike Manley's first career tally giving Duke a 6-1 advantage with 3:40 left in the first period.

Maryland's Jeremy Sieverts ended the Duke run with an unassisted goal with just under two minutes remaining in the first period, but Duke countered with goals from Ned Crotty, Quinzani and Greer to push the lead to 9-2 at the 3:38 mark of the second quarter. Reed's second goal of the day sent the teams into intermission with Duke ahead, 9-3.

The third quarter began on a high note for the Terrapins as Sieverts scored to pull Maryland within five goals at 9-4. However, Steve Schoeffel, Greer and Matt Danowski scored in a span of 3:28 to increase the margin to 12-4 heading into the final quarter. Each team scored three goals in the fourth period to account for the final margin.

Along with his career-high 14 face-off wins, Payton was credited for a game-high 10 ground balls. In the Duke net, Dan Loftus posted 12 saves while allowing just six goals in 55:18 of action. Parker McKee contributed six grounders and an assist while Manley finished with the first two points of his career, netting one goal and one assist. With a pair of tallies, Danowski pushed his nations-best streak of consecutive games with at least one point to 45 and now has 29 points on 19 goals and 10 assists in eight career games versus Maryland. In addition, Ned Crotty chipped in one goal and a team-best two assists.

For the Terrapins, Reed finished the night with three goals while Sieverts had a pair. Young dished out two assists. Goalkeepers Jason Carter (6 saves & 9 goals allowed) and Brian Phipps (6 saves & 6 goals allowed) split halves.

With his three goals on the night, Greer moved into a tie for 18th place on the NCAA's all-time chart, Franz Wittelsberg of Johns Hopkins with 151 career tallies. The Whitby, Ontario, Canada native also moved into sixth place on the ACC's career list for goals, passing Duke's John Fay, who had 150 goals.

Duke returns to action on Tuesday night, hosting Lehigh at 7 p.m.