Syracuse crushes Duke in top-four match

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Top-ranked Syracuse (7-0, 2-0 ACC) used a high-powered offense and stifling defense to cruise to a 19-7 victory against No. 4 Duke (7-2, 0-1 ACC) Sunday at the Carrier Dome.

Attackmen Kevin Rice and Dylan Donahue each finished with seven points. Rice tallied four goals and three assists, while Donahue bagged a game-high five goals and contributed a pair of helpers. Midfielder Henry Schoonmaker chipped in with three goals to help Syracuse remain undefeated.

As well as the Orange offense played, the Syracuse defense was even more impressive. The Orange held a Duke attack that entered the game third nationally in scoring offense (16.0 goals per game) to one goal in the first half and two through the first three quarters.

Goalie Bobby Wardwell led the charge, making 11 saves in 48 minutes. Close defenseman Brandon Mullins picked up four ground balls and caused three turnovers. Mullins limited Duke leading goal-scorer Justin Guterding to two goals, one of which was man-up.

The duo of Peter Macartney and Scott Firman shut down Duke star midfielder Myles Jones. Jones took eight shots and did not score a goal for the first time this season. Jones finished with just one assist, well below his season average of 5.63 points per contest.

"I was really happy with the performance of our team and I thought our assistant coaches did a really great job of getting our offense and our defense ready for what they were going to see today," SU head coach John Desko said. "I think we just played well from one end of the field to the other."