DURHAM, N.C. – The Saint Joseph's men's lacrosse team came out firing in the first quarter, but #2 Duke proved too much for the Hawks as the Blue Devils walked out of Koskinen Stadium with a 19-10 victory over St. Joe's on Saturday afternoon.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Only 15 seconds in, the hosts had already notched the first goal in the game of what would be a thrilling opening quarter as 2023 Tewaaraton Award winner Brennan O'Neill found the back of the net.
• The Hawks responded swiftly, Carter Page answering with a goal in his 29^th consecutive game. Toron Eccleston continued his strong start to his first season on Hawk Hill with a goal 30 seconds later to give the Hawks an early lead.
• After the Blue Devils tied the game at 2-2, Jesse Jason beat his defender before ripping his shot into the netting to retake the lead.
• Matt Bohmer doubled the Hawk advantage with his first goal of the year, spinning past a defender before diving and finishing from just outside the crease to put St. Joe's up 4-2.
• Three goals in 40 seconds allowed the Blue Devils to overcome its deficit and give the hosts the lead before Mark Watters opened his account this year with a second effort chance.
• Duke took a narrow margin into the second quarter, scoring with .9s left on the clock to earn a 6-5 advantage after 15 minutes.
• The Hawks struck first in the second quarter after eight minutes of scoreless action, Colin Reich adding his second tally of the season to tie the game at 6-6.
• St. Joe's failed to find the back of the net over the last 6:30 of play, allowing the hosts to grab three goals and take a 9-6 lead at the break.
• After the Blue Devils grabbed the first tally of the second half, the Hawks broke a 12-minute drought with Watters' second goal of the game after a successful challenge from head coach Taylor Wray showed the ball crossed the goal line.
• However, Duke kept its foot on the throttle to outscore the Hawks 10-4 over the second half to keep its undefeated start to the season going with a 19-10 victory.

 
GAME NOTES

• Carter Page was one of four Hawks with multiple goals, extending his third-longest goal scoring streak in the country to 29 games with two tallies on his day.
• Toron Eccleston had a team-high eight shots, seven on goal as the graduate transfer finished with two goals.
• Matt Bohmer added two goals to his account to sit in a tie for third place in program history with 114 career goals.
• Mark Watters added his first two goals of his career, while Jesse Jason added two points with a goal and an assist on the afternoon.
• Levi Anderson continues to search for his first goal of the season, adding an assist in the loss.
• The Hawks outshot the Blue Devils 40-39 on the night, forcing 15 saves out of the Duke goalkeepers with 25 shots on target.
• Duke forced 15 turnovers and tallied 21 more ground balls than the Hawks, Brennan O'Neill leading his Blue Devil team with six goals in the win.

 
UP NEXT

• The Hawks return to action for their home opener on Friday, February 23, taking on Towson in a 4 p.m. matchup.